


The kingsmaker's story

by Kidcorsin



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: F/M, Growing Up Together, Journey, Mentorship, Rivalry, Substance Abuse, Talking Pokemon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 22:53:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 46,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21842476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kidcorsin/pseuds/Kidcorsin
Summary: This is the journey of a young boy growing into a hero, only to lose it all and start again, of the friends he made alone the road as well as the challenges.And it all began as so often in this kind of stories with a moving truck.
Relationships: Sonia/Leon, others I might come up with
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

Finally!  
Her grandmother had fallen to sleep.

“Sonia!”, she had scolded her, when she had seen the truck rolling down the street. “Get away from the window child. Staring at people is not nice.”

Sonia had jumped from the window sill. “It had been the second today, granny!”

“I know, I know, child.”, her grandmother had laughed. 

“And you really think that they are moving here?”, the girl had asked excited. 

Magnolia had put a cattle on the oven to make some tea. “Hmm... From the direction the trucks drove to? I would say not directly in town, but Postwick maybe?”

“Postwick?”, Sonia made disgusted. “Who would want to live there? Nothing there but two ghost houses and Wooloos.” 

But grandmother Magnolia must have been right. She was very smart as you have to be if you want to be a Professor. The laboratory was on the southern border of Wegdehurst, but the trucks had been driving even further south and the only only town, if you want to call it that way, was Postwick.  
But nobody in their right mind would move there. Most people, much to Sonia's anger, called even her home town rurally, which was nothing more than an adult word for boring and Wegdehurst had a grocery store, a clothing shop, the laboratory, a Pokécenter and the train station.  
Curious on what kind of people might to move to such a boring and creepy place, Sonia sneaked out of the laboratory and got her bike.  
It was a cloudy day and the ground was muddy from all the rain. She imaged if there were new children also as she drove across the bridge. A new girl maybe? Oh! That would be fun! Most likely they would go to the same class and could become friends. 

_Maybe I should brought her a gift? A cute booble?_

The hill up to the first house at Postwick was tougher than she had remembered. Last time she had been here was at the begin of the vacation, when some boys had dared her she would be to afraid to touch the gate towards the Slumbering Weald.  
Ha! That joke was now on them.  
The two trucks were standing there, one in the yard, the other on the street and the old man from the only other house here was angrily complaining about them blocking the way to a tanned, younger but still old man.  
Sonia stretched herself to get a better look. But there were no children, let alone another girl. Disappointed she decided to wait a bit and looked at the house. It was the bigger one of the two here. It had two floors, a garden and a yard. Somebody must have repaired some of the windows and cleaned up the rubbish on the outside. 

“Gramps!”, somebody yelled and and the younger still old man turned around. A boy came running on the street. “The Machop broke something ag...”  
He had spotted her and now stared at her with a hostile look until he stuck out his tongue. “Bääh!”

What was that curious goose staring at? Was she up for trouble? The last thing what Leon could use right now was nosy people. His little brother was screaming all today, his mother was stressed about moving, his grandmother was dealing with that clumsy Machop and his grandfather with that stupid old geezer. 

And now this! 

A girl had appeared uninvited. She had red curly hair and wore a pair of flap trousers with some flowers. Her surprised face made him even more angry, so he stuck out his tongue: “Bäääh!”

“Leon!”, his grandfather scolded him and followed his gaze. “Oh! Hello, young lady, nice to meet you.”  
The girl replied nothing, just turned her bike and drove away. His grandfather sighed. “Leon, you should be nicer to the children here.”

“Why?”, he asked grumpy.

“Well, they could become your new friends.”

“I do not want new friends. I want my old friends.”, Leon demanded and kicked a stone away. “Nobody had asked me if I want to move.”Again his grandfather sighed and ruffled his violet hair. “Heeey!”

“I know it is a hard time for you. But we had to leave, this place is much cheaper than Wyndon and your mum needs a new start.”, his grandfather explained.

“I know.”, Leon moaned and got his shoulder patted.

“You are doing great so far. As expected from the new man in the house.”, he got praised.

“What about you?”, Leon asked and his grandfather laughed. 

“I am here to teach you and spoil Hop.” His grandfather reached out his hand. “Come on, let's see what this Pokèmon trainee has messed up now.”

The boy looked at the hand and shrugged. “I need both hands if I want to carry some more boxes.”

Leon carried another box inside and up the stairs. He had to admit that the new house looked better on the inside than on the outside. His mother had hired some carpenters to repair it, so they could actually live here. But still it was not his home.  
His home was Wyndon, where his friends were, his school, the place where they used to play football and... his dad. The first tears, that had filled his eyes had come from sadness, the last ones came from anger. 

“Don't think off him.”, he remembered himself. “He does not deserve it.”

He entered a room with a crib and lighter coloured wallpapers. His mother was there trying to comfort his little brother. 

“Mum?”, he asked and his mother looked surprised at him. She had also tears in her eyes. 

_She was crying again._

Leon felt anger rise in him, as she tried to wipe them away. “Leon, you should really knock before entering a room.”

“Sorry.”, he simply said and placed the box on the ground. “I can take Hop now. Boxes are getting to heavy for me.” His mother shook his head. “Come on, mum. I can do this. I am the new man in the house and Hop always laughs when I am around.”  
Now even his mother laughed. “Who told you that?”

“Grampa.”

“Well, he as to now. He was a man ages ago.”, his mother chuckled and gave him his younger brother, who was only some weeks old by now.

“Really?”, asked Leon and started rocking little Hop. 

“Yes, but that must have been even before my birth.”, replied his mother and noticed the baby boy had stopped crying. Once again surprised she stared at the wide grin of her older son.

“See? I told you so?”, he reminded her proudly. 

She smiled at him gently and kissed his forehead. “Alright, you were right. But be careful and if he gets to heavy, put him in his crib.”

“Okay, okay.”


	2. Lightning and fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both recieve ther first Pokémon in a rather unconventional way.

Two years later.

“Leon!”, she yelled after him angrily. “Do not go there!”

Sonia was left standing on the fence looking so afraid. 

“Hehe!” Leon grinned even wider and teetered playfully some more steps towards the mysterious forest. For two years now he had been staring at it and now finally he had gotten the chance to explore it. But of course Sonia must have caught him, when he had sneaked behind the fence. 

“That is not funny! This is dangerous.”, she warned him.

“So? Come and get me.”, he taunted her “Or don't you dare?” She puffed up her cheeks as she always did when he teased her. But she would not follow him. “Fine, see you later, you little scared Buneary.”

“I will tell your mother!”, Sonia yelled in a last attempt to stop him.

“You would no..” There was a high pitched scream, nut human but of a Pokémon maybe? Leon turned to the trees, suddenly his legs felt soft and wobbly. “What was that?”

“Sounded like something in pain.”, stated Sonia, who was suddenly next to him. 

“Than we should go and help them, right?”, the boy asked and he forced his legs to move.

“Wait!” She grabbed his arm to hold him back. “What if it is a trick? I mean to lure us in there?”

He gulped and looked back to the woods. “But what if not? Could you live with yourself knowing some Mon might have died and you could have done something?”

“No.”, whispered Sonia. “Crabby! And the old Johnson just died. So there are no adults around we could tell.”

“So it is to us.” He smirked and nodded towards you. “Do not worry I am here with you and nothing will harm you.” Leon pulled out a flash light and broke a branch of a fallen tree. “Which one do you want?”

“Give me the light.”, ordered Sonia scared.

“Okay, but that means you got to go first.”, explained Leon and noticed how she got even more scared. 

“Than give me the stick.”

Now more or less well equipped the two children headed for the forest. The sunlight got blocked out fast. No Pokémon was around, even the high grass seemed to be left. 

“It is so quiet here.”, Sonia noticed. 

“Hmhm... Funny, isn't it? According to your grandmother's books this place should be filled to the brim with Skwovets and Rookidees. Look, there are even some half eaten Oranberries.”, pointed Leon out and climbed a slope up.

“Wait! Do not leave me here alone!”, asked Sonia.

“Do not worry.”, replied Leon and reached out his hand. “Here, you do need to get dirty too.”

“Thank you...” Now Sonia looked also around. “Nothing. What happened? Where are all the Pokémon?”

Leon held the light towards the ground. “Hm, what ever it was it must have come from there. See? The footprints. Those of the Rookidee stop and there are some feathers. They must have started flying from here.”

“How do you know all this stuff?”

“Like I said your grandmother's books.”

Sonia shook her head. “If you would study so hard for school...”

“School is boring.”, commented Leon. “Let's go this way.”

He went first and Sonia followed him close. Fog started to cover the ground and off the path they had mote move even more carefully. They would have turned around long ago if there was not sometimes a small howling to hear.  
The fog crept higher and higher and got ticker and thicker. Soon the flash light could not pierce through it any more. 

“Crabby!”, Leon hissed. “We can not find it like this.”

“We should turn around, Leon. This is too dangerous.”, asked Sonia and saw how he grit his teeth, before he punched the air in frustration. 

“All right.” he turned around and he wanted to smile, when he sat the giant monster behind Sonia. He face became pale and Sonia's worried. “Le...”

Leon took her hand. “Run!”

He pulled her with him, as the sound of leaking gas willed the air as well as a deep: “Weeeee.”

Sonia screamed and the lead her somewhere away from the Weezing. The fog became even thicker and hid all the trees, roots, bushes and another giant Pokèmon or another slope.  
With a scream both children fell some meters down. The ground was loose and muddy. Breathless he looked to Sonia next to him.

“You are okay?”, he asked.

“Hmhm.”, she made. “Do you think we... what is in your face?”

“What?”, he asked and touched his cheek. A red liquid mixed with the earth and rests of plants stuck to his fingertips. Again he felt fear rising in him as he noticed that the air down here smelled of iron and copper. Leon wanted to say something, but fear strangled him so that he only managed to made some weird noises. 

“It is blood, isn't it?”, asked Sonia scared and he nodded. “Do you have your lamp?”

“Yes, but I am not sure, if I want to use it right now.”, admitted Leon, as he handed it over.

“I know what you mean.”, confirmed Sonia and turned the light on, only to turn it off again. Wide eyed they were staring into the darkness of that hole. 

That was not true.

Next to him Sonia started crying. Carefully he patted her shoulder a bit awkwardly. “Hey, hey.”  
Sonia started to cry louder.  
“Uhm, I know it is not nice, but we should be a bit more quiet. We do not know if what ever killed all these Yampers is gone.”, explained Leon and rubbed her back. “Sshh!”

The cave in front of them was filled with the corpses of many Yamper, that had been torn apart. It had been a gruesome sight. Sonia was still crying and she seemed not to stop that easily. 

“uf.”, some voice made and she looked up.

“What was that?”, Sonia asked.

“uuuf.”, the voice made weakly and the children looked at each other. 

“Make another sound, Yamper.”, asked Leon and turned the light on again.

“Don't be afraid. We are here to help you.”, assured Sonia desperately. 

These dead bodies were dripping and red, not much of the yellow and red fur remained. The ground had become even more muddy. Most of them had died by bites into their bellies and now their bowels had spilled out. 

“uf! Uf!,” some bodies moved.

“Leon!”, Sonia pointed at them and the boy pushed carefully all the bodies aside. Especially there had been lying many of them. On the ground, more red than yellow and brown and hiding under the broken eggs of his dead siblings was a tiny Yamper, shaking. 

“One is alive.”, sighed Leon on relieve and reached to take the little one up, but it whimpered. “What is going on?”

“I think it is hurt.”, noticed Sonia. “We should bring it to the Pokeécenter.”

“It can not carry it.”, reminded Leon her. 

“Give me your jacket. I have an idea.”

He gave her the jacket and quickly Sonia made a bag out of it. “Here, Yamper. We bring you to a place where somebody will help you.”

Hesitant the weakened puppy climbed into the bag before Sonia slung it over her head. Leon looked impressed. 

“That was cool.”

She smiled briefly. “Let's get out of here.”

“Good idea.”

Leon climbed out first and helped Sonia out of the hole. 

“I think we came from this way.”, noticed the girl.

“Wuff!”, the Yamper made.

“Hush!”, the children made. 

“We are not yet safe, Yamper.”, hissed Sonia. 

Now Sonia lead them and Leon had always one eye back, to see if anything would follow them. The fog became lighter and lighter before the say a small patch of higher grass with some Skwovets and Rookidees searching for food there. 

“We made it.”, sighed Sonia relieved. 

“Not yet.”, noticed Leon and pushed himself in front of them. “Thievuls, two of them right in front of us.”

“Oh no! Thievul and Bolthund...”, started Sonia and pressed the Yamper closer to her. 

“Hmhm... Listen, Postwick must be close. You will run.” He gave her a pair of small silver keys. “Take my bike and bring Yamper to the Pokècenter. Get help. I will distract them now.”

“Leon, that is too dangerous.”, said Sonia.

“Yamper needs our help and you would not been here, if not for me.”, he reminded her stubbornly. “Now get out.”

Leon picked up some stones and sticks and threw them at the for Pokémon. “Hey you ugly beasts! Here I am! Get me!”

The Thievul snarled at him and followed him as he ran through the high grass on the pathway back deeper into the forest. “Get help!”

He did not saw Sonia leave, but he hoped she did. The Thievul were fast and soon caught up to him. One jumped in front of him, the over stayed behind. They had caught him.  
Slowly they sneaked around him in circles. 

_If I at least had a stick or something..._

Carefully Leon turned around trying to always have an eye on both of them. One Thievul growled and lowered its head, ready to jump. He let kept an eye on him a little longer, long enough for the other to attack him and bite his leg. 

“Argh!”, he yelled and went down on one knee. Now the monster towered above him.  
Why did I ever think coming here was a fun idea? At least Sonia and Yamper are save again.  
The two foxes came closer.

_Mum, Hop, granny, grampa..._

He closed his eyes and heard something running. Confused he opened his eyes again, but there was really thick fog, even ticker than before. Something was there and stared at him. 

_The Thievul? Why are they waiting?_

One of them lowered his head and pushed something towards him. Leon wanted to move backwards, but he had forgotten about his leg and moving became a bit more difficult. The object touched his shoe, but by now the fog was so thick, all he could see was an orange blopp.  
Despite his fear, he felt be became drowsy.

_Yawn?_

He fought against the tiredness, but his eyes closed. Moments before he fully fell to sleep, he felt two snouts nuzzle through his hair. With he last flicker of strength left he opened his eyes to see a blueish wolf and a redish pink lion. 

“Leon!”, a man yelled.

“Leeeeeeeon!”, also a woman yelled.

In face at least ten people yelled his name.

“Urgh...”, he made and her steps again. 

“Here! I found him!”, a man shouted, as Leon felt somebody rolling him onto his back. “Leon?”

“Who are you?”, croaked the boy. 

The man had darker hair and green eyes. Leon had seen him somewhere before. 

“My name is Rose. Everybody is looking for you. Here.” Rose offered him a bottle of lemonade and Leon drank it greedily. “Easy, boy. You had us all pretty much scared.”

“Sorry.”, the boy said.

“Leon!”, his grandfather arrived. “Praise Arceus, you are save. Are you okay?”

“One Thievul bit me.”, said Leon and rubbed his eyes with his arm. 

“Come, we bring you to a doctor.”, offered Rose. “I can take him. You take the egg.”

“What egg?”, asked Leon confused and saw Rose pointing to a big orange egg. “Oh! That was not a dream!”

“What was not a dream?”, asked his grandfather and took the egg from the ground. 

“The Thievul were scared of.”, explained Leon. “By a blue wolf and a red lion. One of them rolled that egg towards me.”

“So it is yours now?”, asked Rose and carried Leon on his back. 

“I don't know.”

“A red lion? A blue wolf?”, asked his grandfather wary. “What could that be?”

“Chairman!”, a woman said and waited for them. “You found him.”

“Ole...”, started Rose.

“Wait! You are chairman Rose? The head of the Pokémon league?”, asked Leon stunned. “That is why I thought I knew you! Can I have your league card?”

Rose laughed and the woman shook amused his head.

“Leon! You are still in trouble.”, sighed his grandfather. 

“It is all right.”, said Rose. “That is the usual reaction when children meet me. I guess that means he is on the road to recovery. You get a league card, when the doctor has seen you, right Oleanna?”

“Of course, chairman.”, replied the woman with a stern face. 

Leon and Rose talked with one another like friends, who had not seen each other in ages. The chairman was laughing and soon more people of the search party joined them. They looked less happy, until Leon's grandfather and Oleanna had explained everything to them.  
Behind the fence were his mother, grandmother, Hop, Sonia and Professor Magnolia waiting. Next to Sonia sat a the little Yamper, cleaned and with some bandages around his belly. 

“Leon!”, his mother cried and hurried towards him. “Are you okay? You are grounded for the rest of your life, are we clear? “ She caressed his hair and kissed him on the forehead. 

“Muhum!”, Leon made annoyed. “Please! Not in front of the whole town.”

“That kind of punishment serves you right, after you scared me like that. What were you thinking?”, she asked him before she noticed Rose and blushed a bit. “Sorry, I did not mean... Thank you for finding him.”

Rose smiled. “Everything is fine. You have a fine young man here. If he ever wants to try himself on the league challenge, call me.”

Leon mother cocked a brow and laughed. “I was completely serious with him being grounded until eternity.”

“You think I could join the challenge?”, asked Leon surprised.

“Yes, why not?”, asked Rose back and brought the boy to an ambulance. “He as a Thievul bite on his right upper thigh.”, he told the paramedic. “That mean, if you can convince your mother that you are not only brave but reasonable enough so she would consider to lift the punishment and let you go.”

“Hmhm...”, Leon made. “Do you think she is really mad? I just never ... I just wanted to look into the forest. If we had not heard the Yamper, we would never had gone in there.”

“That is also what Sonia had told us.”, admitted Rose. “Do not worry that much. You two did the right thing.”

Leon still had two weeks to stay at home as a punishment. Well, he was allowed to go to school at least.  
One day his mother was awaiting them already on the doorstep. He checked his watch. No, he was not too late.

“Mum?”, he asked and pushed his bike into the yard. 

“Professor Magnolia has called.”, she asked with a sad smile on her face. “She has something for you. You should go there quickly.”

“Professor Magnolia?”, he asked confused. “And quickly?”

“Hurry, darling and please stay away from this tall grass, this time.”, asked his mother.

So Leon drove back to Wegdehurst and knocked on the door of Professor Magnolia's laboratory. Sonia opened with an excited smile. Yamper was right behind her. It was now officially Sonia's first Pokémon, which made Sonia the first trainer of their class. 

“There you are!”, she pulled him in, helped him with his bag. 

“What?”, he asked.

“Took your time, didn't you? Come now. I am sure you do not want to miss it.”, she blabbered. 

“Miss what?”, he asked annoyed. 

Sonia giggled and lead him to a machine with some lamps inside. Professor Magnolia was waiting in front of it. 

“Leon! I am so happy, that you are here.”, she said and pointed to the egg inside. “You remember this?”

“The egg!”, Leon noticed so excited that Yamper started barking. “I wonder where it had went!”

“I took it.”, explained Magnolia. “too warm it properly, but now it is close to hatch and since you found it.” She turned the machine off. “You should do the rest. It will be your Pokémon after all.”

“Mine?”, he asked surprised and jumped up and down out of happiness. “Oh! Wow! That is so great! Thank you Professor! Sonia! You heard that?”

“I did! Now get it out. I can not want to see, what will hatch.”, explained Sonia.

“She had made a list of all orange Pokèmon.”, mentioned Magnolia amused.

“Grandma!”

Magnolia gave Leon his egg. “How long will it take?”

The Professor smiled. “Nobody can tell. Children of all kind get born whenever they want. If it takes too long I will call your mother, not that she thinks you got lost again.”

“Thank you.”

“Come on, now! Look at the list. That might be a Groundon egg.”

He kept the egg close all day. Sometimes it moved and when he noticed it first, he was pretty surprised. Sonia had been laughing so hard because of his face, that the juice she had been drinking burst from her nose.  
Professor Magnolia had kept er promise and called his mother, when the sun was about to set. She brought him a sleeping back, a tooth brush and some snacks.

“Tell Hop good night from me.”, Leon asked.

His mother rose her eye brows. “What? Not a good night kiss as you normally do?”

Sonia giggled again and Leon noticed hos his cheeks got warm. 

“Muuuuumm.”, he growled. 

“And what about me?”, she asked.

That was it. Sonia and Leon both explaoded, Sonia out of laughter and Leon because well, his head most certainly felt like it. 

“MUM! Seriously. We are not alone.”, he hissed.

“Mummy's little boy.”, teased Sonia him.

“See!”, he moaned and his mother hugged him, before kissing him on his head.  
“Sorry, I just hoped you would stay my little Leon just for a bit longer. No w you are about to get your first Pokémon and...”

“Time flies.”, added Magnolia gently

“Right.”, said his mother and caressed his cheek with a sad smile.

“Don't you worry. I am not gone yet and I will visit you all often, even Sonia.”, promised Leon.

“Hey! Why me?”, asked Sonia.

“Because I will sent you home soon on my way to become the champion.”, explained Leon fiercely. “If it will make them sad that I leave, they only way I can make it up is by becoming the number one trainer in Galar!”

“You mean number two.”, gave Sonia back. “I will be champion.”

“My, my.”, made his mother amused. 

“Looks like we have two fierce rivals here.”, noticed Magnolia amused. “I bet it will be fun watching you. But now you must decide on the movie you want to watch tonight.”

They watched two movies with Yamper on the floor of the laboratory. Sonia was falling asleep often and woke up the next second. 

“You do not have to stay up all the time with me.”, mentioned Leon. “I will wake you up.”

“Not a chance. I will not lose to you.”, said Sonia provoking. 

“Tsk.”, he made. “Can you reach me the soda please.

“Here.” She gave him the bottle.

By the end of the next movie both were slumbering lightly when the egg suddenly started moving like crazy. Both children screamed, jumped back and hid behind the couch. Yamper was barking until Sonia covered his snout.

“Shht!”

Than it was quite for some moments. 

“An... da?”, asked a fine, slightly confused voice. 

Leon looked over the couch and in front of it on the floor sat a small, orange, dinosaur like creature with a flame burning on its tail and a piece of its eggshell still on its head.  
They their eyes met, Leon felt bursting with pride.

“A CHARMANDER!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading.  
> Sonia said something suspicious, when we first met her; Leon would constanly search for new rare Pokémon. What if he was too looking for Zacian and Zamazenta?  
> That do you think?
> 
> Also :Any ideas for the names of his family?


	3. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon has some trouble training his Charmander and also there is an unwanted visitor.

Leon brought his Charmander each morning to Professor Magnolia since she had convinced him, that it would need to grow a bit before he could fight with it. After school he would stay at the laboratory, finish his homework, study in advance and help out Professor Magnolia in order to learn a bit more about the practical life with pokémon. If his grades were good enough and he would be accepted to a school program for very young trainers, his mother had agreed for him to start his gym challenge earlier at his ninth birthday. 

He put a some wood on a pedestal and looked down to Charmander. “Ready, partner?”

“Char?”, his partner replied unsure. 

“What is it?”, Leon asked as his pokémon timidly looked away. “Professor? Why does Charmander look so scared?”

Professor Magnolia smiled. “That is something you must figure out on you own. I will not be there each time your pokémon acts strange to you.”

“Char...”, the little newt made and walked off.

“Hm...”, Leon made and scratched his head. Determind he made a list on what he could image was wrong with his partner. Leon checked if Charmander was healthy, hungry, cold, tired, but with each point it just looked sadder. In the end they both sat silently next to each other and sighed. 

_What am I doing wrong?_

Sonia brought him home this evening since some Rokiedee on route one started to get more aggressive this time of the year. Leon started at the pokeball in his hand and sighed again.

“Are you okay?”, Sonia asked carefully.

“Yeah, I am fine.”, he lied and smiled widely.

“Because you do not look like it.”, she reminded him. “Come on.”

“Chamander... I wanted to start fight training today, you know and I did my research. I did not start with us attacking random wild pokémon, that could cause it to see each other pokémon as a threat and apparently this Lid guy figure out that Pokemon train first against their parents or trees and rocks. But Charmander... it did not want to...”, he explained in a low voice. “I really checked if anything was wrong... I think I made it worse.”

“Hm... Sorry, I did not have any problem with Yamper...”, said Sonia. “Maybe it just needs some time?”

“Maybe...” Leon sighed again and looked at the pokeball.

“Uhm... do you know anybody who drives a red sports car?”, asked Sonia and pointed at the yard.   
He looked up and moaned loudly. “You better go home. A real jerk is at my home right now.”

“Really? Who?”, she asked.

“My dad.” Leon put the ball into his pocket and marched on. He had bowed his head and raised his shoulders a bit. His whole posture was tense. 

He walked past the car and felt an urge to scratch something along the side of it. When he finally entered the room, he said nothing. Leon walked still looking to the ground stubbornly into the living room.

“Leon!”, his father greeted him gleefully. “How are... you?”

Leon just picked up Hop from the ground and carried him up to the sleeping rooms. Hop was of course not agreeing on being carried around and broke free as soon as he could. But up here in Leon's room his little brother was safe. He closed the door and got some of his toys for Hop to play with, while he starred angry to the ground. 

Did only took a few minutes before somebody knocked. 

“Leon?”, his mother asked worried. “I am alone, can I enter?”

He grit his teeth and resisted for a moment, before walking over and opening the door. Still saying nothing. 

“I know you are still angry with him.”, she began and he huffed dismissive. “But your dad and Linda came all the way from Wyndon down here, to see your first pokemon. Please be at least so kind and say hello to to them.”

Leon looked away stubbornly. 

“Fine, but I will take Hop with me.”, she stated and picked Hop, who again protested from the ground.

“What?”, asked Leon shocked and looked into his mother's stern face.

“Leon, if you want to sulk all day up here and never talk to Peter again, fine have it your way. But I will let you drag Hop into this too, he might want a dad.”, she explained to him. 

“He left us!”, Leon finally yelled. “What kind of that is he anyway? He can go and fuck off!”

“Leon!”, his mother scolded him harshly and Hop started to cry. “You stay up here to tonight. I will bring you dinner later.”

“Fine!”

She shook her head and left with Hop. When the door was open, Leon could see his father standing on the stairs with a sad face. His mother walked past him. 

“I told you should have called at least.”, his mother hissed. 

Confused Peter looked around and his eyes ended on his son. “Leon!”

“Wham!” The boy slammed the door angrily and then stood there in his room tensely, shaking, pressing his jaw together. He could not move, did not dare to move. Any command send to his body could come out violently. 

Sonia had been half way back to the laboratory, when the bad gut feeling she had was finally taking over. 

_I really need a dam good excuse._

She turned around and drove back up the hill. In the yard she was sneaking around the car, if she would make a scratch in this thing, her grandmother would be furious. 

Sonia rang the bell and Leon's mother opened the door with Hop on her arm screaming in protest.   
“Hop! A moment.”, she asked and turned again to the girl. “Sonia, I am afraid I just grounded Leon and it is late, you should be going home.”

“Yeah, he was really not in a good mood, but uhm...” She could feel her cheeks burn. “He wanted to help me with maths today and we totally forgot it. So I promise we will not have any fun, please?”  
Leon's mother taught for a moment, before she smiled and nodded. “I will call your gran, that you come home later.”

“Thank you!” The girl ran up the stairs and saw a man standing in front of Leon's room, knocking and talking. So she hid behind the corner.

“Come on, Leon. Talk to me.”, he asked with a meak voice. She took a closer look. It was a small man finely dressed with a belly and fading hair. “I have not seen you for so long. You would not even talk to me, I am very sad about this. I just drove all the way down here, so you could show me your pokemon. I also brought Nadja with me and now you are embarrassing me, when you are behaving so rude.”

Sonia could not point her finger on it, but there was something she clearly disliked about that man. So she stepped up and cleared her throat, the man turned around.

“Oh! Hello, young lady, how may I help you?”, he asked very friendly. 

“I want to see Leon.”, Sonia explained carefully.

He shook his head. “I fear he does not want to see anybody. He is such a difficult boy, but I bet you are a good girl, aren't you?”

The man came closer and Sonia moved back, when suddenly the door flew open and Leon rushed out of his room. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes scarily angry. Without a word he grabbed Sonia's wrist and pulled her in his room, before slamming the door or trying to. His father stopped him by putting a foot in the door frame. The grown man howled as the door hit him.

“You hit me!”, he complained. 

“Then go away! Nobody wants to you here!”, yelled Leon, as he entered. “Get out of my room! MUM!”

“Leon, manners!”, his father hissed. “You are embarrassing us in front of the lady.”

“Manners?”, the boy hissed. 

“Peter!”, his mother appeared and groaned. “What are you doing?”

“I just want to talk with my son and see his pokemon.”, explained the man pouting. “And he does not want to.”

The mother wanted the three and shook her head. “Peter, you are supposed to be the adult here, but with your behaviour I doubt that. Leon is still angry for you leaving us for that... woman. He had to leave everything behind and you did not call him during the divorce. You messed up.”

“Well, he should forgive me! I am his father.”

“You sure about that?”, asked Sonia dryly and Leon next to her looked at her surprised. “What?”

His mother sighed and patted her surprised ex on the shoulder. “Come, the children have to study for a math test.”

“But, I...”, he started.

“Peter! For Arceus sake.”, the mother growled. 

“Fine...”

They left and Leon and Sonia were left alone. 

“A math test?”, Leon asked.

“I had to improvise.”, she admitted, as he let himself drop on his bed.

“Hmpf.” He laid face down before rolling around. “I told you to go home. I did not want you to meet him.”

She smirked. “Looks like I am just as bad with directions as you are.”  
Leon laughed bitterly, but replied nothing.   
“Why did you not want me to meet him?”, Sonia asked and sat down on his bed too. 

“Guess I did not want for you to think I will be like him when I am adult.”, admitted Leon and looked at her. “You know? Many people look at us kids and say: Oh! You are just like you mum, dad...”

“Gran.”, closed Sonia and nodded.

“Right.” Leon sat up. “I can not be like my mum even she is really awesome, because I am a boy.” He made a face. “At least I can look at him and say I want nothing to be like you. But what about Hop? He does not care for him. So I have to be... somehow somebody Hop can learn from. Even I can not keep my cool, when it comes to him.”

The two fell silent for a while and Sonia noticed the pieces of filling around the big snorlax pillow seat.   
Sonia had no clue on what to say on that. So she sat there a bit tense and getting more nervous with each moment. 

“Why don't you let out Charmander?”, she asked suddenly just to say something. 

Leon looked at her confused. “I am not allowed to let it out inside.”

“Your mum does not like it?”, asked Sonia surprised.

“Mum adores Charmander, but the flame on its tail? Inside is too much stuff that could burn and there is also Hop.”, reminded Leon. “And I have barely control over it.”

“So Charmander only sees you in the laboratory, when you are working?”

“Yes.”

“Hm...”, she made.

“What?”, he asked.

“I mean, maybe Charmander is unsure about you because of that? If you would only talk with me in group work or when you want you homework, I would also think of you as a mean guy.”, she explained. 

“And being a trainer is more than just work.”, moaned Leon, before slapping his forehead. “I am so stupid. Fine, but don't tell mum.”

“Okay.”, Sonia promised eagerly.

He took the pokeball out and opened it. Charmander sat on the floor and looked surprised around. 

“Chaar?” When it spotted Leon it looked even more confused. “Man... der?”

Leon laid a finger on his lips. “Hush, my mum is worried you char stuff. She must not know that you are here.”

“Char?” It looked sad and grabbed its tail to keep it close. 

Leon's face shifted to a mixture of happiness and sadness. 

“Arceus! It is so cute!”, squealed Sonia and got on the floor to cuddle it. 

“Char?”, the newt made surprised.

“Yeah, I guess so.”, he boy murmured and looked away. He briefly smiled and looked sadly away. 

“Man? Man! Man! Man!” 

Charmander tried to free itself suddenly and Sonia let it go. It walked to its trainer and started jumping up and down to get his attention. When Leon looked at it, it started making weird faces and silly noises. The boy was confused for a moment before he started laughing. 

That was when Charmander turned the power up! 

Sonia started also bubbling for laughter and Yamper broke itself free, looking what the fun was all about. The monsters got into a play fight. Soon Leon's room was a mess, when the door flew open.

His mother stood there with a stern look. 

“Hmhm.”, she made and Charmander looked for its ball. “Don't, Chamander.”

Leon jumped to his feet. “I swear it was my fault. They just wanted to cheer me up.”

“I see.”, she looked at her son even more serious. “You four will clean this room up, wash your hands and pawns and join us for dinner. That will be your penalty for today.”

The boy made a face. “Fine.”

An hour and hungry like a pack of Lycanrocks later, the for came down the stairs ready to take their seats in the kitchen. Hop was sitting in his chair fighting for his freedom or food, but either way, he had to wait and did not like it. Leon's father was sitting next to a woman with big hoop earnings and really much make up in her face. His grandfather and gran were staring angrily at them. 

When the father saw Charmander, the jumped to his feet. “That is it?”

Leon said nothing, but took Charmander a bit closer. 

“Splendid! You know it is quite exotic to have a kantonian Pokemon. Oh! It is great! Image the impressive image it will make one day as a poster in my shop! As a seller of man's clothing a Charizard is perfect.” Chamander had started growling and when Peter's hand came closer to pat his head, it used scratch. “Outsch!”

“Leon?”, his mother asked wary.

“I did not do anything.”, Leon explained. “Chamander must not like the thought of being used as a mascot.”

Peter rubbed he small cut. “It will, once it get's all the nice food and fame.”

“As if I could not provide for my own pokémon, once I am a trainer and when we get famous, it will have nothing to do with you.”, explained Leon fiercely. Before he turned to Charmander. “Well, done, buddy. But let's pent up the scratches for the training tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
> And thank you for reading this. 
> 
> From all we hear about Leon he is that he was undefeated since age ten. I wanted to give him some struggles and not him waltzing through the challenge like a Flabebe in spring. Also I want him have less charming sides and a reason why he is ( at least in my opinion) more responsibilty than most champions for their regions. But more to that later.
> 
> Chamander was really not sure in the beginning if Leon liked it or if it was just a tool to him. It was also a good way to show Sonia's more perceptive qualities and her connecting points, which will make her a professor one day. 
> 
> As for Peter: i will try to make him the opposite of Leon and I hope I was able to show that. Do you know how hard it is to restructre sentences so even a statement of caring becomes really selfish? Kudos to professional writers here.
> 
> Anyhow, have a nice day and I hope you will also read the next chapter


	4. Good bye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonia gets hit by the first wave of puberty and that drives her and Leon slightly crazy. Also Raihan, Piers and nessa entr the game. Have fun

“Sonia!”, he moaned annoyed. Leon was staring at her, checking her bag for the fourth time in an hour. 

Sonia puffed up her cheek. 

“Leeeeeeeeeon!”, she mocked him and he huffed. “As if you are not also nervous?”

“Me? Nervous? Ha!”, he stuck up his nose high before checking his unruly, violet hair for the fifth time in the last half an hour. When he noticed Sonia smirking, he looked away. “Were do we meet Rose again?”

“At the budew inn.”, she reminded him. “Have forgotten?”

“No! I just wanted to say something.”, he explained patty. 

“You are stupid.”, Sonia noticed.

“You are stupid!”, he gave back. 

Both stayed silent for a while until there was a voice coming from the speakers, that made them both press their noses against the windows and pushing the other away for a better glimpse.

“Next stop: Wild area south. Next stop Wild area south. Please leave the train in riding direction on the right.”, said the voice. 

The children were both hoping to see some rare pokemon as they would drive to the wide park area. 

“Arceus! It will be so cool, when we are finally going there.”, mumbled Sonia. 

“Meh.”, Leon made to her surprise. “I can only hope the park rangers will find me before I starve to dead.”

“You can live by eating your own shoes if push comes to shove.”, laughed Sonia amused. 

“Hey!”

“Relax, I meant it as a compliment.”, she explained. “Maybe I can train Yamper to find you? As your personal rescue dog?”

“But Yamper is so small and cute... I...”

“Did you actually use the word cute? I think I never heard that from you earlier.”, Sonia interrupted him and saw how his cheeks turned pink. 

“Stop teasing!”, Leon demanded.

_But I like it?_

Sonia shrugged. “Okay, okay. Don't be such a baby.”

“At least I am not a brat.”, hissed Leon. “Seriously, you got really annoying the last weeks. What has gotten into you?”

“Nothing.”, barked Sonia back. Now some other passengers started to turn their heads. “Great! We are gathering attention!”

“As if that is only my fault.”, huffed Leon and crossed his arms behind his head.

“Well, you are yelling like a little boy.”, growled Sonia, who looked embarrassed at the table. 

He stared at her angrily. “Fine, I have still some homework to do.”

Leon pulled out some of his books and notebooks and started to doing some of the scheduled work for him. Since they were merely ten when they still had to reach in some homework and tests to get a certificate of their education. Sonia had little to no problem doing her homework and tests on her own, but Leon? He could barely concentrate, especially not with her looking all smug. So his fist clutched tightly around the pen and he grit his teeth in order to ignore her.

One hour later they finally arrived at the Motostoke City station, where Leon called his Charmander and both ran headless out of the building. It has been so long since he was last in a city that big, even Wyndon was bigger. 

Sonia followed him with a worried look and a map. “You really should wait for me. I will be never able to find you in this huge place.”

“Come on! Where is your sense for adventure?”, he asked, took her hand and lead her down the street. “Cities like that are fun! Where do you want to go first?”

They passed to young men in their late teens, early twenties, who where grinning mischievously at them. 

“Maybe we should go to the inn? People here look suspicious.”, she whispered. 

Leon turned around and looked at her a bit disappointed. “Fine.”

Sonia thought for a moment and checked the map. “If we turn around we can come across the shopping street and head directly towards the gym. Maybe we can spent some time there?”

“Okay.”

Charmander and Yamper, after Sonia released it from its ball, ran in circles around them, digging out some flowers, sniffing on corners and so on. They walked in the shadow of the massive southern city wall protecting the buildings inside from the wild pokemon and the unstable weather of the wild area. Something they needed to see after reaching the shopping lane. Both stood on top of the massive stairs that let down to the ressort.   
Sonia chuckled seeing Leon getting all excited. He grinned wildly, when he noticed his behaviour.

“Buwäh!”, somebody made behind them. The turned around and a small chub... no fat boy stood there. His skin tone was darker than Leon's, but his eyes were brightly turquoise and his hair pitch black. When his mouth turned to a sneering smile, it revealed his upper cuspids to be a bit longer and pointier.. With his dark old fashioned clothings he looked like a stuffed Zubat. 

“Any problem, pal?”, Leon asked annoyed.

“Sorry, I got just sick seeing you two.”, he explained with a smug voice. 

“I ask again: What is your problem?”

The boy pointed at his hand and Leon followed his hint. He was still holding Sonia's hand, so what? 

“I... don't get it.”, he admitted and was surprised when Sonia suddenly let him go and looked away.

“Uhu!”, the stranger made. “So she is not your girlfriend?”

“What?”, Leon asked shocked. “This..? NO! YIKES!”

Sonia punched his arm and walked off down the street with Yamper following her. Leon watched her and rubbed his let upper arm. 

“I don't get it.”, he admitted to the world. 

“Tsk! What a dunce, see you later, loser.”, the fat boy sighed and also walked down the street.

Leon looked at Charmander. “Can you tell me, what this was all about?”

“Char... man-der?”, he asked back and both sighed. 

Realizing that they were now alone and that Sonia had their map, Leon ruffled his hair. This was all not working according to plan.   
The two also started walking down the street, Leon first thoughts about how to get to the gym building shifted quickly to him dreaming about his first glorious victory over Kabu, the first gym leader with his fire type team.   
Leon remembered how Kabu was when he was still a child, how he had sat in front of the TV cheering. But in the recent years Kabu's nickname was the ever fading flame a sign of his constant decrease in battle skill. He had fallen from almost being the champion to being the first gym leader now and barely making it each season. 

_I wonder why he is becoming so bad?_

Not caring where she went, Leon bumped on the side walk into somebody, who started crying directly. 

“Uwaah!”, he jumped back scared. In front of him sat a little girl in a fine dress. She had also light blue eyes like the fat Zubat boy but her hair was dark blue. “I... I am sorry.” He said and he and Charmander helped her up again. “Are you okay?”

She looked at him, before running away. 

Leon stood there and again turned to Charmander. “Please tell me you know, what that was about.”

“Chaaaaaaaaaaaaa...”, the little pokemon sighed. 

“Dam it.” Leon walked back towards the gate, wondering about the girl and vaguely remembering a local telling them: Just go straight ahead, can't miss it.

Charmander grabbed him and pulled him back. “Mander! Ma ma-nder!”

He looked confused down to his little friend, who pointed to the metal elevator.

“This way?”, he asked.

“Mander!” Charmander pushed Leon in this direction. 

“He! I can walk on my own!”, the boy protested. 

With the help of his pokemon Leon soon arrived at the Motostoke gym and it was filled with new challengers and those who had to reenter the tournament. Excited he and Charmander stormed to the counter to stand in a line waiting.   
It felt like an eternity before they would finally hand over their...

“Endorsement.”, the man behind the counter asked.

“Uhm...” Leon slapped his forehead. “Be right back.”

“No need for that.”, said a familiar voice and Leon's face lit up as he saw Chairman Rose next to Sonia heading towards them. “His endorsement was already sent in, as well as the one for this young lady.”

“Chairman Rose?”, the man behind the counter said surprised and many of the challengers around them started looking at them. “I will check that. Please wait a moment.”

“Of course.”, replied Rose politely. “Leon, I heard you got a bit lost.”

The boy grinned. “Only a bit. Charmander helped he getting here, but I forgot that we were supposed to meet you somewhere else first.”

“The Budew Inn.”, reminded Sonia him.

“Yes, right.”

“I was worried since I expected you to travel together.”, the adult admitted and handed them over their paper work. 

“We were, but Sonia suddenly ran off.”, explained Leon confused.

“Don't claim it was my fault!”, Sonia hissed angrily. “Urgh! You are such a... kid!”

“He! What...Hum?”, he looked up as Rose placed a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. “Why do you not fill out the blank spaces on your registration?”

“Fine?”

Not much later Sonia and Leon, who beamed with pride, walked to the Inn, where they would spent the night. 

“Arceus! You are so embarrassing.”, Sonia complained. “Please walk ten metres away from me.”

“What is your problem?”, Leon asked annoyed.

“You showing off without any reason! Picking number one as your number. Do you not even consider something more realistic?”, she asked.

“No, I will be the number one.”, he stated simply and slightly confused. 

“Leon, you... you urgh! You are such a kid!”

Leon's cheeks turned red. “I am not!”

“You two having a lover's quarrel?”, somebody asked behind them and it was the fat Zubat again.

“Oh! Great it is you again. Get lost!”, Leon asked and took Sonia's hand to lead her away from that freak. But she refused and ran off again. 

“Leave me alone!”, she barked. 

So he stood there utterly confused. “I... I don't get it.”

“You are sure she is your girlfriend? She does not really seem to like you.”, noticed the Zubat.

“She is not me girlfriend!”, explained Leon frustrated. “But she is usually decent for being a girl.”

“You mean I can ask her out?”, the stranger asked excited.

“Who are you again?”

“I am Raihan.”, he introduced himself. 

“Okay, Raihan, maybe you have not noticed bus every time your are around she runs off.”, reminded Leon him. “You should think about that.”

Raihan shrugged. “I am an optimist. Who are you or should I call you such a kid, like she does?”

“Leon.”, he mumbled. 

“And that is your Charmander?”

“Yes.”

“Are you always so pissed off or is this girl still on your mind?”

“She is not!” But he was actually annoyed by her and there was nothing he could recently do without her freaking out.

“Hmhm...”, Raihan made and it made Leon even more angry. 

“Are you always so annoying?”

“Only if something peaked my interest. Come on, we can have a shake at the inn, my treat.”, the suggested.

“No thank you. I have to talk to Sonia and see, what is going on with her.”, Leon declined the offer. “But can you tell me where to go?” Raihan smiled and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “Thank you.”

Leon still took an hour before finding the inn after he had found himself on the other end of the road near Galar Mine no 2. He checked in and asked if Sonia was around.

“I am sorry, I am not allowed to let a young an enter the ladies quarters.”,the man explained and left Leon with a feeling of being puzzled again. It was like he had missed something important or a secret everybody except him knew about. 

He called Charmander back and headed for his room he shared with two other boys, one of them was Raihan and the other one hidden under his blanket.

“Hey, found your girl?”, Raihan asked surrounded by piles of candy bar wrappers. 

“As long as she stays in the girls only zone I am not allowed to talk to her.”, Leon said and pointed at the shaking person under the blanket.

Raihan shrugged. “I have not seen him either. He does not reply to anything. Wait.”

The Zubat smiled and placed a finger over his lips. He sneaked towards the third bed and pulled at the blanket in an attempt to look epic, but whoever was hiding there was at least just was strong and the chubby boy had not a chance.   
Leon watched him struggle while sitting on his bed until Raihan lost his grip and bumped against a wall with his head first. Upon his scream, even the boy under the blanket looked up.

“Ah!”, Raihan rubbed the back of his head.

“Why can you not leave me alone?”, the third boy asked desperately and sniffed. His eyes were red and swollen. 

“Were you crying?”, asked Leon dumb footed. 

“No!”, the boy shrieked and rubbed his eyes. 

“Of course he was! Like a little baby!”, sneered Raihan and Leon rolled his eyes.

“You could be somewhat nicer, you know?”, he asked.

“He is acting weird.”, pointed Raihan out.

“He is Piers.”, the unusual pal boy noticed. “Nice to meet you.” He said towards Leon. 

“I am Leon, hi. Are you all right?” 

“Uhm? Hello?”, Raihan asked. “I am also here and I am heavily injured.”

“Not really.”, Piers said and called his Zigzagoon to cuddle it. Leon noticed something odd. Piers had some black nail polish on his finger nails. “I guess I am homesick. I never really wanted to participate in the gym challenge.”

“What a loser.”, commented Raihan and Leon through his pillow at him. 

“So why are you here?”

“Ma parents thought would be a good idea.”, he explained. “But I miss home.”

Leon smiled and nodded. “I can see why. Leaving home was really odd for me too.”

“Really?”

“What?” Raihan even laughed a little

“Yeah, I don't know... kinda scary, don't you guys think? My mum recently taught me how to cook and how to do my laundry. Arceus, I never thought about stuff like that.”, admitted Leon.

“Laundry?”, Raihan asked confused. “Yeah, of course! I mean, you must really be a dunce, if you had not considered that.”

Piers shook his head and pulled out a photo of him and a little girl maybe in Hop's age. “Ma home towm is not really the nicest place, you guys. Ma parents work a lot, so I fear what ma lil sis will feel like. I was looking after her.”

Leon grinned and took a photo from his wallet with Charmander, Hop and him. “My little brother. Our father is a jerk and somebody must be a role model for him. So I am here.”

“Nice plan.”, admitted Piers.

“You girls done now? Or will you also braid each others hair?”, asked Raihan amused and now Piers threw his pillow at him.

“And why are you here, meatball?”, he asked.

“Hmpf! Fame and money of course!”, admitted Raihan. 

“How noble.”, mocked Piers the other boy. “Come on, pal. Heard there will be a party to night for us. Some kind of getting to know the rest.”

“A party?”, Raihan asked enthusiastically. “I head to the bathroom first!” 

Leon was surprised how quick he was on these stumpily legs.

Sonia held a cup of soda in her hands and looked around next to her stood Nessa, a silent girl she shared her room with. It was her first real adult party and heck that was making her nervous. Many of the people around were older thirteen at least.   
What if one of the boys would come and talk to her? Maybe wanted to dance with her? She never had seriously danced before! 

Sonia shook her head.

_Since when do I care?_

But ever since her leave from home had come closer, the weirder stuff had become for her and often she had not really meant it. It was just very confusing! Her only hope was that Leon would be just as overwhelmed with everything as she was, but no! That boy did not care for anything except bragging him becoming champion! 

Speaking of the devil. 

Leon and two other boys entered the room and Sonia almost laughed seeing him with his hair glued back, just like the little, round boy with the smug smile next to him. 

_He looks ridiculous!_

The third boy was much taller, thinner and looked sickly.   
When he saw her he let the group over to her.

_Oh! No!_

“Hey, Sonia!”, he started with a goofy smile and Sonia turned annoyed her back on him. 

“Didn't you say you were friends?”, asked the sick boy.

“Yeah... uhm... She just has a bad day, I guess.”, assumed Leon. “Pizza?”

“Pizza!”, the fat boy shouted.

_What a ! How can he claim that I have a bad day? What does he know? I do not even know! He is just spreading rumours, that brat._

Angrily she left Nessa behind walked over tot he dinner buffet, took Leon by his right upper arm and dragged him outside. 

“Outsch! Hey! What are you doing here?”, he asked angry. 

“You are pissing me off! Stop spreading rumours!”, she hissed.

Leon shook his head. “I have no idea what has gotten into you. I just try and find an explanation for your behaviour!”

“It is not your business.”

“Sorry, I was kind of worried! I thought we were friends.”, shouted Leon back. 

“Friends don't spread rumours!”

“I was not... oh! Forget it.” He wanted to leave. 

“Yeah! Go to your new friends and tell them what kind of a shrew I am.”, half way through the sentence Sonia started sobbing and he was even more confused. 

“I would not do that. You know that.”

She knew somewhere in her mind, in a dark corner.

Sonia threw her pokeball. “Yamper! Bite!”

Completely blind sided Leon had to dodge the attack, before calling Charmander. “Smokescreen!”

Charmander was confused why it suddenly was fighting Yamper, who also just seemed to realize, whom it was fighting as black smoke filled the hallway and turned the fire alarm on. 

“Whoops!”, Leon made and soon some staff members were there to help the children to leave the building. 

Lets say they were not amused about Leon and Sonia fighting in the hallway.   
The children got scolded and had also to apologize to the fire fighters. During the whole time Sonia was staring to her feet closely to cry, while holding Leon's hand. Leon still had now clue, what was going on exactly, but maybe he should not dwell on it too much.

After they had promised to fight outside next time, he suggested to Sonia to go for a walk.   
Deeply ashamed Sonia was still very silent, when they walked over to the gym. 

“I would never spread a rumour.”, repeated Leon himself.

“I know.”, whispered Sonia. 

“Good.”, he huffed and looked over. “Now, maybe I know what is going on with you. Piers got me an idea.”

“Yeah? What?”

“Could it be you are home sick?”, he asked and Sonia looked to the ground again. 

“Hmhm.”

“You know you can always get a taxi and visit your gran, right?”

“Yes, I know... but, what if I suck? What if I... lose even on my first match? What if my gran does not want a loser in her family?”, she asked desperate and Leon wanted to answer. “I know it is stupid, okay? You do not need to tell me. But lately, my head... if my head was a library all the books are suddenly in the wrong places.”

“Sounds odd.”, he admitted. “Why have you not told me or your gran?”

“I do not want her to treat me like a child.”

“Sonia, you are a child.”

“Yes... no... argh!” Frustrated she kicked against a lamp post, that flickered and went out. “I do not want to be a child any more! And seeing you, still being on frustrates me. Maybe something is wrong with me?”

Completely lost he looked at her. “Uhmm... maybe? I don't know?”

They sat down on a bench in silence. 

“Maybe we should part ways.”, suggested Sonia silently. “I mean before we really start hating each other.”

“I do not like that idea.”, admitted Leon. “You are my best friend.”

That made Sonia tear up. “Arceus, you are such an idiot, Leon!”

“Sorry, please don't cry.” She started laughing. “Uhm... I do not get it.”

“Me neither. I just guess, I need to figure some stuff out, you know? And if I have a bad day, like today I really do not want to make you so angry, that you can not stand me any more.” Sonia looked at him, both sad and confused. “So we might have also more to tell each other when we see us along the road.”

“And fighting makes more for a competition, if I do not know your team.”, added Leon and rubbed his eyes. “Still, I think I miss you, even after today.”

“I am just glad I am still your best friend.” Sonia got on her feet. “Good bye, Leon.”

He replied nothing and just looked away.   
Weirdly Sonia found it harder and easier on the same time leaving him. She wanted to cry, yet looked forward to see him next time. 

“Sonia!”, Leon yelled behind her standing on the bench. “Make sure you train hard or I will beat you next time for sure!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you for reading.  
> Originally I wanted to make Raihan a real yerk. but as I was writing I noticed I needed a reason why Sonia and Leon would not travel together. Since I had wrote already that she would like to tease Leon to get a reaction from him and his attention ( which is some premature way of flirting) I thought letting her enter the next stage before him, might cause enough for a rift. Also Sonia just hit the right age so, after a quick research I was okay with that idea.   
> Leon's main quote was I do not get that, because he was simply not getting it.   
> Raihan will be more important for sure, since I have a backstory in mind for him.   
> Thank you for reading and next time you will read Leon Vs Kabu- the rebirth of the phoenix


	5. The broken hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon vs Kabu

Two days later Leon sat next to Piers in the arena, cheering loudly as Kabu was about to take on Raihan. He stood on his seat, hoping him yelling would support the very thin, sickly looking man in the red gym leader gear. If Piers had these weird shadows under his eyes, Kabu had craters.  
And with each challenger, who beat Kabu, Leon got more silent. It was not because Kabu lost, but how it affected him.   
Kabu became a wreck.   
He bit his lower lip, started shaking, sweating, dropped his ball while trying to call a pokemon. It was just sad. 

So when him and Piers met Raihan after this, Leon was not really sure, if he should congratulate Raihan for beating Kabu that badly. A Trapinsh against only some lowly leveled fire types seemed hardly fair.

“What else should I have used? Bug types?”, Raihan asked, while chewing his burger. “I would have also beaten him with those. This old man is weak, they should sent him home.”

“I think Raihan is not completely incorrect, Leon.”, admitted Piers. “If we go easy on him, it might humiliate him even more. A pity victory provided by a child?”

“Hm...”, Leon made slurping his soda. “I just... he was so cool, when I was a kid you know.” Piers grinned and Leon rolled his eyes. 

“Your girlfriend still thinks you are a outsch! Don't kick me.”

“She is not my girlfriend.”, reminded Leon the chubby boy.

“Ex.”, mouth Piers and Raihan chuckled. 

“Ha ha, very funny. Can we get back to topic? How we can help Kabu?”, Leon asked annoyed. 

“You two should rather come up with a decent strategy.”, suggested Raihan. “Your Zizagoon is neutral towards his Vulpix and effective against the Litwick, but the bug type of his Sizzlipede? Puh!”

Piers made a face. “I know, I know. Even if I do not like it in particular, I might go to the Galar Mine No 1 and get myself a Rolycoly. What about you, Leon? Your Charmander is not much of a use towards other fire types.”

“Not sure, I might head to the Wild Area for some training or creative ideas.”, Leon mumbled.

Raihan choked on his lemonade. “You and the Wild Area?”

“You think that is a good idea? You have trouble finding your way back from the bathroom.”, commented Piers.

“I am not that bad.”

“Dude! First time we met I sent you into the wrong direction with ease!”, admitted Raihan and shook his head. “Forget about Kabu, I am not able to get a night of sleep, if you are out there alone.”

“You did what?”, Leon asked back. “Why?”

“Because you were rude.”

“You...”

“Guys! Chill, what is in the past, is in the past.”, explained Piers. “Leon, promise to take care of yourself out there and Raihan you should head to Turfield. Don't be so climgy.”

“I am not clingy!”, protested Raihan.

“You are.”, teased Leon.

Piers covered his eyes with one hand. “I need more people my age around me.” With these words he got on his feet and smiled. “I want to go to bed early and need to guy some stuff before leaving. So I hit off, good luck on the road you two. See you around.”

He left.

“Do you think the were annoying him?”, Raihan asked a bit unsure.

“I guess so.”, Leon mused and ate the last of his fries. “Maybe I should also get going. I doubt Charmander will be feared to set things on fire out there and it can run around there. Until next time, Raihan.”

“See you too.”

He shouldered his bag and walked out of the restaurant and turned right towards the big city gate. After a few steps he noticed he rubbed his stomach, which felt odd. It did not hurt, it was more like an itch or something. A rubber band tugged to his navel came to his mind and it got stretched with each step he did. With this band he was connected to his home and family on the other end, but what if it would rip? 

_Scary._

He stood on top of the stairs. It was raining in the area below him. 

_Maybe I should go tomorrow?_

Leon turned around and made some steps back into the city. The weird feeling in his stomach thou did not disappear. Now the shame for being a coward got mixed into it. He looked over his shoulder. Without thinking about it a third time, he turned around and ran down the stairs into the rain. He did not look around, but kept moving until he was out of breath. 

“I am Leon.”, he said out loud. “I am ten years old, I am from Postwick. I have a little brother named Hop, a mum, a grandfather and a gran. My first pokemon is a Charmander. I am going to be the league champion.”

Leon repeated this over and over as he walked through the Wild Area for looking for a place to set up his tent. Or at least until he was attacked by a wild Stufful. At first he tried to run away out of surprise, but the was followed. 

“Charmander!”, he threw the pokeball. “Use... uhm? Ember!”

The tiny dinosaur appeared and whipped its tail that some sparks reached the other monster, but due to the rain it was not much. 

“Crabby! Okay, okay.. Scratch will no.. no! I did not mean for you to use scratch! I... uhm...” Leon watched Charmander first use scratch than on its own spew a blueish flame that scared the Stufful off. “What was that? Outsch.”

Charmander scratched him slightly.

“Char-mander! Char char man-der. Char-man-der!” It used its whole body to convey the message and it did not looked pleased. Then it poked against Leon's forehead. “Charmander.”

“Sorry, I did not pay attention and caught off guard.”, he admitted with a sigh. 

“Charmander?” It dipped its head to a side. 

“Lots of weird stuff today. And what was that attack you just used?”, Leon asked and pointed to a group of trees growing closely together. 

“Mander.”, Charmander explained.

“Can you show me?”

It once again blew out the blueish flame and Leon held his pokedex up to scan the attack. “Dragon breath? Since when can you do this? That is amazing!”

“Char-mander!” It looked up proudly and winked. His trainer rubbed his head.

“Well, done buddy!” Then the fight with Kabu came back into his mind and his face got more serious. “Do you think that will be useful against other fire types?”

“Char?” It thought for a moment and shook its head. 

“Crabby!”, Leon swore and Charmander looked sternly at him. “Sorry, it will just be our first big fight, you know? Everybody keeps telling me that you might not be a good choice to use.”

“Chaaar...” It looked down and grabbed its tail, like it always does when it was feeling down. That was something Leon could already tell. 

_Great! Know I also hurt my pokemon's feelings. Arceus! Today is not my day._

He patted its head and smiled when it looked up to him. 

_It is my duty to unlock your secret potential. If some guys think you are weak, it is my fault._

“Come on, buddy, we have some training to do. Our match is in two days. If I catch another friends, you are still my ace. You must be in an excellent shape.”, Leon explained and started to move some of Charmander's limbs. “So? Shoulders back, tail up, head high and let's go.”

Charmander looked puzzled before it started laughing. 

“That's better.”, he admitted. “Come on, we have some work to do!”

Two days they spent in the Wild Area training with wild pokemon, using rocks and trees. Leon kicked his legs black and blue and hit his fists bloody, while Charmander sharpened its claws. They fought a Tympole and caught it. 

Nurse joy screamed at them both when they entered the pokecenter late at night before Leon had to fight Kabu.   
“What have you done?”, she asked and did honestly not know whom to heal first. While Leon insisted on Charmander first. But when he was in line, the nurse scolded him. “What were you thinking? You were very reckless, young man. Now hold still, that will burn a little.”

Leon hissed when she cleaned his wounds. “I was.. outsch! Thinking it would be unfair if only Charmander would need to train. I felt bad just commanding it around.”

“Why am I not surprised?”, she sighed softly. “Leon, you are part of the fight, but you are not in the fight. When you train your task is not using a fire punch, but to observe your and other pokemons behaviour, movements and so on. To get an idea on how a fight might went depending on your opponents team. Have you noticed any of that, while beating yourself up?”

“Uhm... maybe a bit?”, admitted Leon and now got really nervous. Maybe his plan was now for naught. Most likely he would loose tomorrow badly and it would not even be a pity victory for Kabu, but is own ignorance and failures. 

_Maybe Raihan is right and I am a dunce._

The next morning Leon fell awful. His legs and hands hurt as well as his head. He was freeze and his stomach was sore.   
During the gym challenge even Charmander noticed him being not fully there and at one point it refused to go back in his ball after he healed it. 

“Char?”

“Nothing, mate.”, explained Leon with a smile. But it still refused. “Come on, I messed up what I was supposed to learn during training and I do not want to look even worse of a trainer, please Charmander, get back inside.”

Now Charmander looked shocked and shook its head. “Char.”  
It walked around Leon, pushed his shoulders back lifted his heat and pushed him until he stood straight. Then it made two fists and started boxing like a Hitmonchan. “Char! Char! Charcharchar!”  
It looked up and raised one tine fist. “Charmander.”

Leon smiled faintly. “Okay.”

“Charmander!”, the fire type declared determine and retreated into its ball.

_Even thou I might be not the perfect trainer yet, Charmander trusts me and it feels ready. Maybe the will not loose after all._

Kabu looked like a mummy, worse a shaking sweating mummy and even more dead.

“I am Leon.”, he introduced himself a bit stiffly and bowed his head. “I am a big fan but I will not go easy on you, so please fight with all you got.”

“Please do not be disappointed.”, asked Kabu with a shaky whisper. 

Leon wanted to say: I will not, but instead he said: “That is up to you.”

The gym leader looked surprised. 

They took their sides and Kabu called his Litwick first. Leon chose Charmander. 

_Okay Litwick is partly a ghost type. So Slash will not work, ember is less effective and Kabu can not use Will o Wisp on my. Also Litwick is not very defensive, but offensive. The most trouble might cause his Vulpix, so I need to prepare in advance._

Charmander looked over its shoulder and nodded. Leon replied the gesture. “Smokescreen!”

His pokemon blew some black out of his mouth. 

“Hmhm, trying to trick my strategy by starting with another fire type. Not bad, but you can not win that way.”, explained Kabu. “Litwick, astonish.”

The smoke started swirling until it formed one scary face, that surprised Charmander and let it stumble until it fell on his butt. 

_That might be the only effective move it can use now. I have to keep an eye on the smoke's movement._

Leon commanded Charmander to use more and more smoke and the thicker it got the easier it was to predict from where the opponent was coming, but the audience got bored. 

“Litwick! Astonish!”, yelled Kabu with a shrieking voice.

_Wait._

The smoke started to swirl.

_Wait..._

It retreated a bit.

“Wait.”, Leon whispered and Charmander looked that the smoke itself and as the grimace started to form, he yelled. “Dragon breath! Now!”

The blue flame rushed through the air and hit the Litwick directly and critically. It fainted.

“Yes! One down!”

The people around them started cheering again. 

Leon smirked. “Good work, mate! Keep it going!”

“Mander!”, was its reply.

_Together we will make it._

Next was Vulpix and no the most difficult thing was not to get his by the Confuse Ray. But due to the cloudy air, the little fox could not see Charmander and again thanks to the clouds Leon was able to guess from where it would come and was able to counter its Swifts with Slashes. It took longer, but Vulpix also fainted.

Kabu sighed. “What a mess. Now even a beginner beats me with my own fire and just one pokemon. I am such a failure as a trainer.”

“You are wrong!”, Leon yelled. “I am also a not failure! Even I made everything wrong, I am a dunce and a kid! I did not pay attention to what a trainers role is in a fight!” He showed him his fist. “See? I am clearly not ready, but Charmander is. It trusts me for keeping an eye open and I will not disappoint it. I may loose, but I will at least try my best. As do you! Your pokemon have not given up on you! They still give their very best. So how can you be a failure?”

Kabu stared at him for a long moment. Then he smiled briefly. 

“Listen kid, you should really not improve your opponents spirit during a fight!”, he yelled much stronger. “I am sorry, my old friend, please help me to kick that brats butt, Sizzilepede!” 

A tiny band aid like bug must have appeared somewhere in the smoke. 

“Yep!”, Leon admitted dryly. “Maybe that was another dumb idea of mine.”

“Sizzilepede! Dynamax!”, shouted Kabu.

“Urgh! What?”, squeaked Leon scared as the tiny bug grew to a true giant.

“I thought you wanted a good fight?”, Kabu asked laughing.

“But not an unfair one!”

Sizzliepede was now towering above the smoke filled air.

“Charmander?”, his pokemon asked.

“Sorry, mate, my bad.”, said Leon and smirked excited. “But you know what they say: The taller they are the deeper they fall.”

“Are you sure about that?”, asked Kabu and Leon looked at him fiercely. “Max Flare!”

A giant pillar of fire hailed down on Charmander and turned the light inside the arena brighter. Leon had to cover his eyes and honestly thought that Charmander would have fainted. But it was still standing, heavily breathing and fighting. 

_And that was one attack... it will not stand after the next one... I have to buy us some time!_

“Charmander! Get closer and hide in the smoky field!”, commanded Leon and Charmander started running. 

_Max move like these need a certain range to unfold their power. Also Sizziliepede can not use the attack if Charmander is too close. It would hit itself and now it can not see it._

“Not bad, you brat.”, admitted Kabu. “Max Guard!”

“Charmander! Use Dragon breath on the ground to jump on its back!”, ordered Leon, while the firebug was moving.

“What?”, Kabu asked and the the audience was cheering loudly.

“Max moves come with their own set of weaknesses. Fire and water need much of space.”, explained Leon tense. 

_But I have not won yet and Charmander is tired._

The gym leader grits his teeth. “Max guard.”

Leon good see Charmander struggling to keep on top off the bug type and soon it would start shrieking. 

“Charmander use Dragon breath once more to get in the air and fire Ember! Let it rain fire!”, the boy directed his monster as the bug grew smaller in size. 

Both fell in the clouded air and the trainers could not see a thing. 

But the cloud started roaring, when Charmander carried the fainted Sizzilepede towards Kabu something Leon could not see.

“Sizziliepede fainted! Charmander still stands, therefore challenger Leon finds this match!, commented the promoter. 

“I have won?”, Leon asked baffled. “We won! Charmander! We made it, mate!” He rand in the dark cloud and saw Kabu patting his pokemon's head. Leon hugged Charmander. “thank you, my friend.”

“Chaar...” The pokemon sighed exhausted. “meleon...”

“Hu?” It started glowing weirdly and growing. “Is it dynamaxing?”

Kabu laughed softly.

When the light fainted Charmanders sink had gotten darker and it had now a horn on its head. It slumped against Leon. “What is going on?”

“Let it rest in tis pokeball, Leon.”, suggested Kabu friendly. “Such a fight and an evolution, the poor thing must be completely done.”

“It evolved? That was the light?”, Leon asked stunned and ruffled his hair. “Man, that caught me off guard. Retreat, Charmeleon.” 

“You should go and bring it to a center, but not without is.” Kabu gave him his first badge. “May your inner flame never faint, my friend and don't be too hard on yourself.” he offered him his hand.

Leon took it. “Same for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading I hoped you like it.
> 
> I tried to write this more like a fight in the anime, but not with Leon being like Ash, who obviously never learned anything about pokemon in advance or remembers it.   
> Also Kabu still held back allowing Leon to make techincally more moves than he made himself since it made more sense in these game that the leader held more back the earlier they were.   
> Also Leon learned the speech no jutsu, I am sorry for that. 
> 
> I have to get back to work soon so I can not update so often and I work on two other stories, but I keep working. See you next time.


	6. Popularity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonia finds herself amongst new friends

Some weeks later Sonia walked behind a group of girls in the Wild Area towards Hammerlock. She and her new friends were on the look for new pokemon. But so far none of them had been good enough. Each of them had a Gossifleur, a Hatenna and a Milcery. Sonia had of course her Yamper too and Audrey had a Combee. 

Audrey was kind of the cool girl. She was fourteen and Sonia did not even understand why, but she wanted her to like her. Audrey just knew it all! She was one of the finalists of the last year, was good at school and ranked on the cutest challenger girls of the season. Sonia was lucky that she had picked her to teach her. Originally she wanted to teach Nessa too, but she would not let go of that ugly Chewtle she had gotten from her mother. 

“Such a thing does not add to your look.”, had Audrey tried to tell, which she was right about. Even Drednaw looked dreadful. 

“I think I would like a Cufant.”, mused one of the girls. 

“Urgh! No! They are not cuddly, way too heavy and have you seen Cooperaja?”, huffed Audrey. “Disgusting, but come to think of it. It would suit you. Its trunk would remove the attention from your nose.”

_I why do I want her to like me again?_

Sonia exhaled softly. 

They reached Hammerlock before dusk and would stay at the pokemon center. When the icons of Sonia's pokemon popped up at the screen behind nurse Joy, she frowned. 

How on earth will I make these things stronger? I do not even... Do I not even like them? Arcues! I swear nobody ever even heard of a trainer, who dislikes her pokemon. 

Nothing against cute and cuddly, but Sonia wanted a cheeky Impedimp or a mighty Tyranatar! Maybe both! But her friends would laugh about her if you would come around with such ideas.

_And what was wrong with Cufant? It is adorable!_

But if Sonia had stand up for Lisa earlier, Audrey would have mocked her too. 

_I should like this journey, but I certainly do not._

“You there, baby?”, Audrey asked and Sonia looked up. She was the youngest. 

“Yes?”

“Tsk!”, Audrey made. “I wanted your attention not for you to make noises come out of your mouth. Follow me.”

“Where are we going?”, Sonia asked outside.

“Have I allowed you to ask question?”, asked Audrey back. “We are going to a hair stylist. I can not stand this carrot coloured weed spreading our of your head.”

Nervous and afraid Sonia followed her, when two boys entered the center and bumped into Audrey. One was a tiny chubby boy Sonia had see before, the other one was covered in mud, coughing and laughing at the same time. 

“Excuse me!”, Audrey said flabbergasted. “Ugh!”

“Sorry.”, the chubby boy admitted. 

“Take that swamp mon...”

“Sonia!”, the second boy said loudly and Sonia wanted to dissolve. Even covered under two tons of mud, grime and what not all, she recognized these golden eyes. “Hey long time since...” He started coughing.

Audrey looked with destain at Sonia. “Do you know that human trubbish?”

“Uhm...” Sonia looked back and forth between Leon and Audrey. “Uhm, no.”

“Wha...?”, the boys made and she looked to the ground.

“See, so would you please leave us alone, you low class Pansears?”, Audrey asked and nodded her head the give Sonia a sign to leave. 

“Sorry.”, Sonia whispered in her head as she walked also past the boys. 

Audrey was furious about Leon and that other boy, all the way to the hair stylist. Calling them names and stuff like that.   
The salon they entered looked fine and the woman behind the counter seemed to know Audrey. 

“Kristy, the usual for me and my friend.”m she ordered and walked straight to a chair.

Sonia looked a bit insecure and was surprised that apparently something was already booked for her. 

_Well, Audrey does have a good taste and that is known by everybody_. 

So she sat down with a smile and waited. The stylist came and started working without a second question or a hello. Another stylist started chatting with Audrey and she complained about a girl, which had left her group, one girl that refused to join her and give up the ugly thing she had trained and some of the girls she was currently travelling with now. Sonia could not help but wonder if she was one of them, but she did not dare to ask.

Half worried and half curious she stared at the mirror to see her hair was getting much shorter. After the cutting the stylist mixed a sharply smelling paste in a bowl. When he wanted to apply it on her hair, Sonia moved it away.

“What is that?”, she asked.

“Colour.”, moaned Audrey. “Seriously what do you know, wooloo girl?”

“Why do I have to colour my hair?”, Sonia asked.

“Because your current colour is ugly! Now get it done.”, the group leader ordered.

Reluctantly Sonia let them.

_Audrey can be really nice and she knows a lot of stuff I need to know if I want to become successful too._

But no matter what she tried to tell herself, Sonia could not help herself and felt worse than ever. 

Later that night she was unable to sleep, after the girls had welcomed her back. Yamper had started sneezing at her when she wanted to feed it. It had even ran off and scratched at a room, where the strange boy that that been with Leon had been waiting. 

Not even Yamper does like my new look and tomorrow we will look for new cloths.   
Sonia patted around to see, where her pokemon had gone too, but it had left. The door was even open a bit.

_Enough for Yamper to fit through..._

She cringed. After Yamper had left her earlier some of the girls had sneered at her, for not even having her ace under control. So she sneaked out of the room and searched for the puppy. The shops were closed and nurse Joy must have been slumbering in her office, but there was still light in the open area of the center, where trainers used to wait, eat and talk during the day. 

It was where she had also found Yamper laying sleeping on its back on Leon's lap, who looked very serious at a textbook. 

The boy ruffled its hair and moaned. “Why do fractions even exist?”

“To torment lazy boys, who stay up all night instead of sleeping.”, replied Sonia and Leon flinched out of surprise. He obviously had not expected her, when he turned around. He even looked a bit scared. 

“Who asked you for your opinion?”, he asked harshly. 

“Easy, Leon.”, she sighed and he looked even more confused. “I just tried to make a joke.”

Sonia stared at him and his angry face. “Leave me alone, you clone. I had enough trouble with you and your swarm.”

Than he started coughing and turned his back on her. 

“Are... you? Are you trying to pull one me over?”, she asked now furious. “Leon! Look at me!” He sighed frustrated and glared over his shoulder. Sonia came closer and looked him right in the eyes. “Getting it?”

Leon squeezed his eyes before opening them in shock. He wanted to say something, but he coughed again, while wildly moving his hands. 

She grabbed his wrists. “Easy! Dam it! What have you done? You sound worse than a Weezing.”

He was barely able to breath again, when he said: “At least I look like myself.”

And he was right in his Pawniard pyjamas. Sonia smirked, as she rubbed his back. 

_Still a little kid._

Leon started breathing much easier soon, but he still dropped his head to the table. “Arceus, being sick is no joke.”

“You are not dying, so do not be so dramatic.”, asked Sonia.

“I am that close.” He showed her a little distance between his fingers. “I am sure of that.”

Sonia scoffed. “Yet you are here and torturing yourself with math? Making so little progress that you think it is the only honourable way out?”

Now Leon scoffed and presented her proudly his badge collection and all three were there: fire, flying and electric. “Tadahh!”

Sonia whistled impressed. “Wow! That is really good!”

“Thank you.”

“Who are you travelling with?”, she asked. “Audrey said a new challenger could never get so far on his own.”

He looked puzzled. “What do you mean? I am on my own, mostly, except my pokemon of course. Wait!” Excited he called his Charmeleon and a Honegde. Yamper jumped at its old friend, who was suddenly so much taller than itself. Charmeleon looked confused and sniffed at Sonia before covering its snout. 

“MELEON!”, it protested. 

“The hair colourant.”, assumed Sonia with a sigh. 

“Right! Why did you do that? You do not even look any more like Sonia. You look like one of this clone girls.”, explained Leon confused and filled two bowls on the ground with pokemon food. “Midnight snack, folks! Dig in.”

“Audrey said I need a new look. Is it that bad?”

“Well.”, he mused ad walked around her. “Yes, it is! You are not Sonia any more, you are just every girl in this region.”

She looked at him sadly. “Why must you be so rude? Usually when a girl asks a boy how she looks, the boy has to reply pretty at least.”

“Even when he truly does think otherwise?”, Leon asked perplex and started thinking. 

“Even then.”

“Then you are the most beautiful girl in the whole world!” He grinned all over his face. “Hey!”

Sonia smirked and poked his baby fat filled cheek. “Which means I am ugly, right?”

“No, just plain and boring like white wallpaper.”, he commented annoyed. “Why do you think I had not recognized you? Let that be!”

“Your cheek is really wobbly.”, she noticed. “Well, Audrey has her own style.”

“Why would you want to look like that dumb Pidove?”, he asked coldly. “She is not even nice or cool.”

“Well, than you are probable the only boy who thinks that, you kid.”, replied Sonia defensively. “She is in magazines and such stuff.”

“So what? Me too and you do not dress up like me, do you?”, he asked simply.

Sonia laughed. “Leon, you are not in magazines. You are... wait! Where you going?”

He walked over to a small table an checked on the newspapers there. She followed him and looked over his shoulder.   
“Ah! There.” Leon handed her over an article. “See?”

And Sonia was stunned. There was an article over one page about Leon winning his third badge. One the picture he was jumping high with his Palpitoad.

_One of our youngest talents this year: 01 Challenger Leon (10) from Postwick.  
The young man surprised in his first battle against Kabu by winning with only  
one pokemon without any effective move. He stalled the gym leader with a   
thick wall of smoke and the inability of his Charmeleon to get burned.  
Thou Leon seemed to progress slower though the first gyms, many other trainers   
seem to know him already from the Wild Area, where he is searching for new  
friends tirelessly.   
On the question what he wants to be, when he is older, he turns around and points  
at his back, where his chosen number 01 is printed.  
“Well, champion of course.”, he declared with a big smile.   
We hope to see more of this confident, young trainer in the future._

“You? You!”, she stammered. “How?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.”, admitted Leon sheepishly. “I never thought I would be that interesting, but it is sometimes cool. Lately a boy cam towards me and said, he knew me from the telly! Can you image? Me? You think mum and Hop saw me too?”

“You have not called them?”, Sonia asked almost a bit angry. 

“Of course! But Hop can now really talk and he talks a lot about Wooloos. I just forgot to ask.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Also it is kind of weird asking if your mum noticed you were mentioned somewhere. Once I become a big deal, she will notice.”

“Typically you.”, noticed Sonia grinning.

Leon stuck out his tongue. “But why this new hair stuff?”

“Hmm...” She made and even felt more stupid now. “I guess... red hair is not seen as pretty.”

“Well, who ever told you that must have been lying.”, stated the boy sincerely. “My mum and gran thought your hair looks sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo pretty. They often asked me if I would think that too.”

“Yes, they see me as a little kid.”, sighed Sonia and made a face. “But now I have cool, older friends. They just know everything and this is really cool now.” She saw him looking doubtfully. “You do not like it, do you?”

“Ye uhm no uhm... wait!” Leon asked and frowned. “I am not used to you looking like this and I never minded how you looked before. But I am also not a girl and I may still be a kid... so me? As long as you do not force me to run around dressed like this and you like it?” He simply shrugged. “Yeah, I am not good with this stuff.”

Sonia giggled and poked his cheek again. 

“Stop that!”, he growled. “Stop teasing me!” He looked cute and she could not stop herself from laughing. Leon pouted, when she needed to hold her belly from her giggles. “Very funny, haha. Leave me alone, I have math problems and I should be in bed since ages! Nurse Joy will kill me dead for sure, if she figures out that I am awake.”

“Right, well.” Sonia looked back to the dark hallway to her quarters. She had really no intend to go back there. “Why do I not hep you?”

“For real now?”

“Yes, why not? I guess I will not have any battles tomorrow. Audrey thinks I should first watch and learn from her.”, she noticed him frowning again.

But Leon shrugged it off. “Guess that works too. See, fractions, I really can not remember how too....”

Next morning Sonia felt a bit better at least until the got into the front part were a half dead Leon coughed his lungs out. Nurse Joy was lecturing him. The girls were whispering and pointing at him. 

“Sicker than a Cubchoo...”, one sighed. “If not as cute.”

“Come on, how old is he? Nine?”, another asked. 

Ten, Sonia wanted to say, but she did not dare to speak up. She saw Audrey reading in the magazine, Leon had shown her last night and she looked not amused. 

“Morning, Soni.”, a third noticed. “Did you sleep well?”

“Hm? Oh ! Yeah.”, she lied. 

“UH! Really?”, the other one asked sneering. “Because I thought you had sneaked out last night.”

“Yes, to go to the toilet.”, hissed Sonia and walked past them. “Stupid Chatot.”

Audrey had clutched her fists around the pages of the magazine and Sonia swallowed dry.   
She is reading Leon's article. 

“Morning, shall we leave? You wanted me to accompany you today.”, she asked the leader with a forced smile. 

Audrey smiled just as falsely back at her. “Gladly, but are you not hungry, my dear?”

“I am fine, I might grab a snack on the way.”, Sonia explained. 

_I just need her to get away from him._

She had a feeling, a very bad feeling, that Audrey might lure Leon into a fight and the poor boy, was suffering enough. 

_Who would have thought that Leon of all the people in the world would be so rigid when it comes to homework? His mum used to tie him to a chair and threat him with torture to make him do it._

Walking out of the centre she barely resisted the urge to turn back and look at him. Leon was really good at this. Apparently ever since they had started this. Not that she had expected him to be bad, but certainly not that good. Or was she just bad? 

Even with Yamper I had a hard time in Turffield. Audrey had a good day and took me under her wing. 

“Wooloo?”, Audrey asked and ripped Sonia out of her taught. “Do I remember correctly that there is a couples of houses next to your home town called Postwick?”

_Crabby!_

“A ghost house and an angry old man living there, while I was living there.”, she replied with an easy voice. It was not wrong. “Nothing worth mentioning.” The younger girl pointed to a shop with some dresses shown in the window. “What about this one?”

“Arceus! No!”, Audrey said disgusted. “These are ball gowns, I doubt you will ever need one of those.”

_Maybe not now..._

Thou the thought of actually being dressed up so finely and dancing with a boy, was kind of weird.

_Maybe not at all, scary!_

“This walking virus at the centre, have you seen him?”

“Well, I heard him.” Sonia shrugged. “I do not like sick people.”

“He is from Postwick, you must have seen him.”, concluded Audrey.

“I stayed often at my gran's laboratory.”

“He was also endorsed by the chairman! You must know him!”, she hissed. “Tell me: How skilled is he? What pokemon does he use?”

“Why do you ask me?”, Sonia asked and moved back. 

“Stupid Woolo! Because you have always to keep an eye on your enemies. That brat seemed to be dangerous. You have tell me, you owe me.”, Audrey growled. 

“I... I do not know anything. I have not seen him since the entrance ceremony.”, the younger girl admitted and her mentor was not pleased. “I know he has a Palpitoad.”

There! Sonia managed to say something true, but outdated. 

“I knew about that! It was in the news.”, Audrey sighed. “You are useless.”

Following her Sonia was feeling worse with each step. She questioned if Audrey liked her or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, thank you for reading.   
> Hands up: Who had these group of friends, who play on each insecurity you had? This is the circle of "friends" Sonia finds herself in right now. Audrey still has some aces up her sleeves.  
> And if anybody worries: No Leon was not chained to the desk so he would do his homework, but I think every active boy can give his mother a hard time. Speaking of Leon. Sonia is already quiet protective of him and has still much more fun around him than with the girls.   
> Also yes, his mother and gran playfully ship the children already. What can I say? For my expierence most mothers ship their kids at some point and once in a million they must be right, right?
> 
> Anyhow, thank you once more. INext chapter will air soon.


	7. Raihan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Raihan's backstory and some shocking examples for Leon.

The road they were walking on was covered in orange dust and the grass was yellowish. Also Raihan glared at him as they trained against each other, while waiting.

“You lost.”, noticed Leon and patted his Palpitoads head. “Well done, boy. Now rest a bit.”

He wore a big fluffy scarf around his neck, a gift from this Audrey girl. 

“I noticed also, thank you pointing out the obvious.”, commented Raihan. “Back to the center? Now that I have to join you for a while.”

“Of course and thank you for keeping your word.”, added Leon and called back the Palpitoad. 

“You said your friend is in trouble, but these other girls are eerie.”, the defeated said. “Leaving you alone with them does not stick well to me.”

“Once again, thank you.”

After Sonia had returned with this false Sandaconda (and he knew he did injustice to the Sandacondas but that is the saying) this Audrey girl had become incredibly friendly towards him. Even gave him this scarf. She brought him tea, soup and helped him with his homework. Also suddenly the other girls started to become more friendly and Sonia, who had looked terribly scared in the beginning started to relax. 

But to be honest Leon hated these girls, they fit into his ranking just between his father and the old neighbour from Postwick. He did not trust them, not one bit. All these smiles and nice things were false, everything was false and that Sonia wanted to be like them also also false in a way, that bugged him deeply. 

So way would he agree to join them for a while? To keep an eye on his best friend of course! Leaving Sonia alone with these Scraggies would end terribly. 

“You know? Stow on Side is my home town. We can stay at my place, mum makes an incredible stew.”, suggested Raihan.

“Really? I thought you are from Hammerlock?”, asked Leon confused as they entered the center in the western part of said city. 

“My dad lives here, but mum moved to her hometown, so she would be closer to Ballonlea. She wants to be an actress.”, mumbled Raihan. 

“Isn't your mum old?” Leon could hardly think of any old actresses. Most movies he watched.. Oh! No! They were women in movies, mostly his mums age and they mostly played mums. 

“Of course she is old!”, said the other boy as they entered the center. “But she is till trying to get the attention of this Opal.”

“Opal? Like the fairy type gym leader?”, Leon asked stunned. 

Raihan blushed. “Well, she tries to get to know her.” He sighed guess. “We will meet her at the gym in Ballonlea if she is not at home.”

“If you want to meet your mum again, why did you not also stayed at your dad's place?” Leon asked wondering if Raihan too had a shitty dad. 

“Because it is not my dad's place, but my brothers and Qartum is not.” Raihan made a face. “We do not get along at all, also my dad lives with him to keep an eye on him.”

“Why?”

“Bad stuff.”, the chubby said mumbled as he looked to his feet. “Really bad stuff.”

“Okay.”

Raihan really looked uncomfortable and sad. 

_Not getting along with his older brother? I wonder must have happen that I would dislike Hop? And why must the dad keep an eye on him?_

Leon frowned. Maybe Raihan's dad had also some other priorities. 

_Fathers..._

“There boys, your pokemon are safe and sound.”, said nurse Joy.

“Thanks, mam.”, replied Leon, while his rival still looked upset. He walked straight over to a vending machine and got himself something sweet. 

_Poor Raihan..._

Unsure what to do Leon kept his distance. 

_Pretty sure he misses him._

“Why don't you call you dad?”, he asked his round friend.

Raihan swallowed. “They are barely at home. Quart gets easily bored and stupid ideas.”

“Well, he must sleep.”

“And so must my dad. Listen I do not expect you to understand... but in my family, my brother is something like... he makes most of our money. Dad can not work looking after him and mum is busy becoming famous.” Raihan shrugged. “I am not allowed to rock the boat.”

Leon looked confused. “Yes, but who is caring for you?”

“Yeah, I mean... I can not be upset right? Mum and Quart are following their dreams and so am I. I just want to help them.”

“You did not answer my question.”, noticed Leon wary. “Come on, just call him.”

“No, he will be at the gym now if you want to meet him.”, mumbled Raihan and bit into another candy bar. 

“Why that?”

“He works there.” The chubby boy sighed. “Quart's stage name is Carat, like the metal weight.”

Leon's eyes became wide and he pulled Raihan aside. “You brother is the eighth gym leader? That is so cool! Why have you never said a word?”

Raihan removed the hand of his rival aggressively. “Because! You are just like everybody else!”

“What?”, the boy asked. 

“As soon as others hear who Quart is, they... well, they become really kind, but fake kind. All they can think of is getting close to him.” He clutched his fists. “And he is just garbage. Why do you think I train my ground types so much? I want to crush him. He only mocks me, makes pictures of me, posts them and calls me a Chubchoo and stuff. Just because he is such a brilliant trainer! Ha! Each time he loses to somebody he gets a level up and beats his pokemon.”

Leon was shocked hearing that. “Wha... why does nobody stop him?”

“Hmpf! You think the champion is much better? That guy gave Qart the first rare candies, but cheer him up after he defeated him.”, explained Raihan sounding suddenly very exhausted. “Not the normal ones, they call the drug like that.”

“Drug like in medicine?”, asked the boy, who had grown up far from all evil on the countryside.

“Evil medicine.”, said Raihan and looked at his friend. “You have no clue, do you?”

“No, I never heard of anything like that.”

“Your live must have been great.”, sighed Raihan sadly.

Leon shrugged. “My mum tried her best.”

“So does my dad.” He shook his head. “Hey, please do not tell anybody, okay? I do not want to cause trouble.”

The other boy nodded. “But I still think you should go visit them. Say hi to you dad.”

“And let you alone with the Mightyenas? No.”

“Come on, man up.”, asked Leon and nudged his arm. “I will make the girls a bit slower, get yourself a bike and you catch up in no time.”

Raihan rubbed his face. “I don't know... I mean I want to see him... but...”

“Tell your stupid brother we will kick his a... uhm butt once we face him.”, the gold eyed boy suggested. 

“And you guys will wait for me?”

“Yeah sure.”

“Okay ... thanks, Leon.”

Leon watched him leave and frowned as soon as he was gone. He slumped down against a wall, covering his face with one hand. 

“Fuck!” When he had started swearing he could not really pinpoint, but his mother would not approve of that.   
Hearing what Qartum did to Raihan was just...

_How could one does this to his own little brother?_

Angrily growling Leon walked up and down. He wanted to do something to get rid of this rage, but he had no idea what to do. Well, no, actually he did know what he wanted. He wanted to smash something or somebody and that made him even angrier. 

“Leon?”, somebody asked and Sonia came looking for him. “There you are. Have you gone lost again?”

“No.”, he hissed and flinched. “Sorry.”

Sonia frowned. “Did you and Raihan had a fight? He ran of like some Combees were after him.”

Leon exhaled softly. “No, we are good... he just told me something and.. it made me angry not at him but for him? Does that makes sense?”

She looked even more confused. “If I had more information?”

“I promised not to tell anybody. It is nothing nice.” He rubbed his face. “Can you tell your friends I ned five more minutes? I am not really... I would do something very stupid if they rub me the wrong way and I do not want you to get the sticky end.”

Sonia watched him a bit worried, but nodded and squeezed his arm lightly. “We can talk later.”

“Yeah, when Raihan is back.”

She walked back to her friends, ho were waiting impatiently.

“So?”, Audrey asked with a biting voice.

“Leon needs five minutes. He is not feeling this well, nurse Joy told him to rest for some days, but that brat...”, Sonia lied with a shrug.

“And what about that Munchlax following him?” The oldest shook her head. “Leon can be almost cute for a brat, but that thing? He should ditch it.”

“Raihan will join us later. He has some business to attend to.”

“What? Robbing a bakery?”, Lisa asked sneering and most other girls laughed. 

She looked at her feet and clutched her fists in her pocket. Raihan was not bad. He was loud, noise and always tying to gather Leon's attention.

_Okay that is annoying._

But over all he was fun, a bit mischievous, which Sonia liked a lot and devoted to his pokemon especially his Trapinch.

When Leon left the center still tense, the girls mood shifted. They started to giggle and woo over him like they did for the last days. Usually he would blush and get all flustered, but now he only smiled briefly at them and it was kind of sad.   
He walked in front of them frowning, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his hoody. The girls soon noticed that he was not responsive and tipped on Sonia's shoulder.

“What is going on?”, Conny asked.

She shrugged and shook her head. Sonia had seen Leon only once in a similar mood, when his Charmander had not wanted to attack the wood.  
But she had not much time so wonder what it was, because soon Leon buried deeply in thoughts trailed off the patch. She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back. 

“Pay attention to where you are going, Leon.”, she told him and he looked surprised. “There are many cliffs around route 6.”

“Hmhm.”, he made. “Thank you.”

He paid more attention, she noticed and soon started to check where they were every few minutes. Leon turned his head back as he watched over his shoulder. 

_Okay, nice you look out for us, but we are not incompetent. We do not get lost that easy unlike you._

When they decided to stop walking and put up the camp, he looked down right worried and built his tent a more distant from them, closer to Hammerlock. 

“Cute, he is ashamed.”, chuckled Audrey.

_I doubt it._

Sonia was cutting vegetables for the stew. When she looked up, she saw her friend still looking down the road, while his pokemon were eating. Charmeleon frowned a bit and came over to her. It pointed at Leon and looked tensely at her.

“Leon char?”, it asked.

Sonia blinked surprised and smiled. 

_How cute! It tries to say its trainer's name!_

She chuckled and snatched a piece of sausage for the little dragon. “Here, but do not tell them. I do not know what is going on with him. He is acting like that all day.”

“Char me Leon... cha-rr-me?”, it asked and nibbled at the meat.

“You should and I try it later.”, promised Sonia.

“Grm..” It made thoughtfully. “Me char?”

She looked at it puzzled. 

“Me char?”, Charmeleon repeated itself, but Sonia still did not understand. Than it started barking and running in circles with his tongue stuck out. 

“You want me to call for Yamper?”, she asked amused and the fire type nodded. “Okay.”

She called for the puppy, who barked greeting her and his friend. Yamper frowned a bit over Charmeleon's stern expression.

“Yam-per?”

“Me char Leon. Char char.” Charmeleon lowered its head and shook it. “Meleon?”

“Yamp! Yamp!” Yamper barked, lowered its head and raised its but while wagging its tail. Than it blasted of towards Leon, barked, jumped on his leg and showed clearly that it wanted to play. 

“Char...” Charmeleon exhaled softly and looked over to a curious looking Sonia. “Chaar...” It cleared its throat. “Char char-meleon?”

The girl looked a bit more confused. 

“Meleon.” The tiny dragon walked to the rest of the girls, who tried to make a fire and used its flamethrower to lit the wood on fire. 

“Woah!”, the girls made astonished. 

“Meleon.”, the pokemon said satisfied and nodded. It came back to Sonia after cleaning its claws with fire, took her cutting board and started slashing the vegetables.

_It is so responsible!_

“Wow!”, made Audrey. “That pokemon is incredibly trained. 

“Charmeleon was very attuned to humans and our way of living from the egg on when Leon received it.”, explained Sonia. “Besides it is very clever.”

“Char?”, the pokemon asked surprised and looked away. “Meleon.”

Sonia giggled.

_Just like its trainer._

“I see.”, the leader made confused and the rookie looked down the road , where her pokemon was playing with Leon. 

_I wonder if Yamper and I also share common ticks._

For the first time today she saw Leon smile as he had a tug war with the puppy. That was more like him. 

After dinner Charmeleon walked to Leon's back and took out his books and homework.

“Charmeleon, Leon.”

The boy sighed and the girls watched the boy making his schoolwork with surprise. 

“All right all right.”, Leon moaned. “Why do you not tease Sonia like you tease me?”

“He!”, the girl made. 

“Charmeleon?”, the pokemon asked.

“Urm... no, I get my stuff.”, mumbled Sonia and the girls started laughing.

“Oh! Charmeleon is sooo cute.”, Lisa cooed and the tiny dragon blushed. 

“Yam Yamper.”, barked the tiny puppy teasingly.

“Charmeleon!”

They did their homework silently. Yamper got pampered by some of the girls and Charmeleon trained with Leon's Honegde the move Slash against a boulder. Palpitoad was taking care of the spark, so they would not light the dry grass around them ablaze.

“Charmeleon is really strict.”, noticed Sonia. 

“He does a great job as my second in command.”, replied Leon with a grin. “You see it is normal for us that I do my homework after dinner and my pokemon are out training and playing.”

“Why?”

“First I need to do that stuff, second they get some air and movement even when I had them not in a battle that day and third.”, he made a face. “Charmander was always mainly with humans, I feared he might had missed out on something, so I thought that would be a good idea. Also it is good for team building.”

She looked at him surprised and shook her head. “Everybody praises him for being so well adapted and you want to..”

“I want to balance it or repay him for being such a help.”, Leon explained. “He seems to be more relaxed that way.”

He again looked down the road and the grip around his pencil tightened. 

“Leon? Why are you looking back all the time?”

“Raihan, I gave him an advice, that might have gotten him into trouble.”, the boy admitted. “There was just a small chance and I told him we would move slowly, so he could catch up easily... I am just worried.”

“I noticed that.”, whispered Sonia and kept on writing. “Care to share?”

“Hm... it is really nothing I should gossip about.” He tipped against his forehead while studying grammar. “I had to sweet talk him in telling me, because he was really sad. Let's say he wanted to see his dad and the chance of meeting somebody else was too high to risk that for him.”

“His dad?”

“Yepp.”

“Okay... does he also have a nasty stepmother?”, she asked.

“I do not have a stepmother.”, Leon reminded her. “My dad does not keep his bed warmers long enough to think about marriage and neither has Raihan. I would argue..” He stopped. “Sonia?”

“Hm?”

“Promise me, that if ever be mean to Hop and become arrogant as fuck towards him, you kick my butt?”, he asked without looking at her. “Please?”

Sonia cocked a brow and smirked. “Like that would ever happen.”

“I am serious.”

“Me too, you will never beat me and become the champion.”, she declared and that made him grin. “But just in case reality gets twisted, yeah I guess I would then love to and I do not need your permission to kick your butt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading.
> 
> What did you think? I saw everywhere pictures from Raihan and his abs, so I thought maybe he started out chubby and quite with a bad expierence in social media. Also I wanted to give one of the kids a backstory with some kind of substance abuse. Kudos to the developer of the game pokemon reborn- she came up with the rare andy for humans as a drug ( not "sponsort" but that game is tough, good but tough). 
> 
> Simply said I think of all the things that can go wrong for a young shooting star and Leon getting culture shocked to the bone ( for the better and worse as you will read later). Yes he is afraid, that he might treat Hop bad if he becomes famous.
> 
> I had also fun writing Charmeleon and it being seemingly so different than his trainer, even thou a person who knows Leon better, might spot some similiarties easier (Sonia). 
> 
> So that is it for now. If you want to know why Raihan is still lost, wait for the next chapter or so.
> 
> Until next time: have a nice day (everyday)


	8. Of Impidimps, Morgrems and Grimsnarls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I have no idea how that happened. I intended soemthing completely different... Lets say Leon and Raihan need a drink.

Even the next morning Raihan had not closed up to them and Leon was fuming. He was ready to run back to Hammerlock and approach Qartum. The boy would shake him until the gym leader would tell him, where his little brother was. 

_And then I would get arrested..._

Still he was growling and irritated all day. When he fought against some of the trainers along the way, he fought more brutal than normal. Audrey had stepped down and offered him to fight and for sure she was truly altruistic.

_Not! That Ugly Miltank, sorry to all Miltanks, just wants to spy on me. She never lets the other girls fight, so they can not become stronger. Also she tells them they are weak, if one does speak up to much, she will let her fight and lose, so he has her point. Smart, I have to admit that.  
Leon ruffled his hair and wanted to scream.   
And Sonia is playing along! Why? What just happened to her? Arceus! This is more than frustrating. If my friends were just a bit stronger, I would not need to worry so much about them. _

He kicked some pebbles away. “Shit!”

A hand was placed on his shoulder. It was Audrey's she was smiling at him and he wanted to wipe it away. 

_No, that is not something I have to do. That is Sonia's battle._

“Are you all right?”, she asked with faked worry in her voice. 

“Did not sleep so well.”, Leon lied and smiled. “Thank you for noticing.”

His mood got darker over the day until they reached Stow on side. There Leon raced towards the center and the telephones, to dial Raihan's number. Impatient he drummed his fingers on the wall. Sonia came over to him as Raihan accepted the call and his face appeared on the screen before them. Both children inhaled sharply. 

Their friends face was covered with bandages and he had a black eye. Also there was a sling around his shoulder, but he was smiling. 

“Raihan!”, Leon yelled. “What happened?”

“Leon, calm down. I am fine.”, Raihan assured smiling happily. 

“Is that your friend?”, a deep voice out in off asked before the boy could reply anything.

Raihan looked away and a big hand ruffled his hair. A man appeared next to him. He had also the dark skin of Raihan, the same coloured hair and eyes. “You must be Leon, Raihan told me much about you. Oh! And who is the pretty lady?”

“That is Sonia.”, explained Raihan. “Leon's girlfriend.”

“You bastard!”, Leon yelled with his face deep red, while Raihan burst into laughter. “She is not! Why did I even worry? Drop dead.”

His rival stuck out his tongue.

“Arceus, why do I have to travel with these children?”, sighed Sonia.

Raihan's father laughed softly. “Hey, why don't you two come over ? I would like to meet my son's friends.”

“Sure.”, Leon accepted. 

“Shall I come over to catch you up?”, asked Raihan.

“You are grounded, my boy and you know why.”, his father reminded him sternly. 

The boy flinched. “Yes, dad, but Leon will never find the way. He would in fact not find the way out of a closet if you would put him into one.”

“Really?”, the father asked and Leon bit his tongue.

“Raihan..”

“I will accompany him, Raihan.”, suggested Sonia and put a hand on Leon's shoulder. “No need to worry.”

“Okay, you two get over when ever you are ready and bring some appetite.”, asked the father friendly.

“See you later, guys.” Raihan waved them good bye before finishing the call. 

“Looks like he is all right, mood wise.”, noticed Sonia and Leon relaxed a bit. 

“You are right.”, he agreed. “I want to get over soon.”

She nodded and her cell phone rang. “He sent me the address, through all the bickering he has forgotten to tell you.”

“That idiot! Okay, I will heal out pokemon and you get your permission to leave the clone troopers for an evening.”, suggested Leon.

She frowned. “I do not need a permission for everything.”

“My problem is more that you need a permission for anything.”, he admitted. “At all.”

“Hmhm...”

The tone of them hmhm was making her angry. “You know I can let you try to find his house alone, but than I would have to explain your mother why you ended in Sinnoh half starved.”

“What? I did not even say a thing!”, Leon complained. 

“You said hmhm.”, Sonia corrected him. 

“Well, what else should I say? Congratulations? You have earned yourself some freedom, a chance to proof that you are not a kid any more and you gave up al responsibilities and ambitions up to become ... that.” he pointed at her. “A faceless clone.”

“Well, it was my freedom to choose this. So why are you mad?”

“Because you could be better!”, he yelled. “Heck Sonia! Until now you are the only person I have lost to! I was hoping to fight you in the finals and now... you do not even bother training. What is wrong with you?”

Sonia almost flinched. He was angry and sad and utterly disappointed and it made her furious. The girls in the back were laughing about them. She turned away. “Get your pokemon ready, I bring you over to his house and after that... leave me alone.”

Leon was surprised and it felt like somebody had thrown him just into ice water. He had over done it. 

_Crabby! Why have I told her that?_

“Okay.”, his voice was much lower and calmer, but in a bad way, that made her feel even worse. As he if would ever understand. 

He got his pokemon healed and read a book while doing so, just so he could aimlessly stare at something. Leon felt really terrible. After their first separation he was sad, but this? This was sadness on a new level, it hurt badly.

_Do not cry, do not cry, do not cry. The Scraggies are watching you, do not cry._  
He bit his tongue and stared without blinking at the textbook. Time was dragging itself slowly and everything was buzzing in his head. 

He was relieved when nurse Joy gave him his pokemon back. Silently he walked over to the door where Sonia was waiting. Leon looked at the ground and buried his hands in his pockets. 

So he did not notice Sonia glancing over at him from time to time with a guilty look on her face, or her opening her mouth to say something an closing it again. His words had hit her, calling her out for being such a weakling had hurt, but what had almost killed her was that he had seen more in her than she did. 

Leon remembered her as the feisty young girl from Wegdehurst, who had defeated him. He had never seen the lackluster trainer she was, almost losing even with a type advantage. His pokemon ran around freely each day and returned happily, while she could barely control her Yamper. How could he understand, that she was just not ... good enough already.

He was meaning well and that made it even worse.

_Stupid immature brat!_

“Left.”, she said and he noticed a very strange tone in his voice. So he briefly glanced over to her. Sonia was looking down to the left, so he could barely see her face. 

_Why was she sad all of the sudden? Was she not angry with me?_  
Leon felt his head become dizzy again and he had a harder time breathing again.   
_Maybe my cold is not already over? Should go to bed early..._  
Then Raihan came into his mind and how he had been excited to see him again.   
_Yeah, but now I am really not in the mood to see anybody. I just want to sleep!_

“Right.”

Leon kicked a stone away angrily and Sonia flinched, what made him swallow dryly. 

_I need to keep my temper at bay..._

Following the road she lead him to a medium sized house made from the same yellowish brown stone like all the other houses. 

“Here we are.”, Sonia mumbled still looking down.

“Hm... yeah, thank you for bringing me here.”, he replied and found an interesting spot on some facade to look at. A door was opened near by.

“Gotta go, bye.”, she mumbled and he felt anger rising again.

His “Yeah, bye.” got swallowed by Raihan's yelling: “HEY FOLKS HOW ARE... hu?”

The injured boy walked on the street and watched Sonia leave and Leon's sulking face. His father stood in the door frame and looked much less confused than his son. 

“What has gotten into her?”, Raihan asked puzzled. 

“Lost my temper and told her, that I was furious about her teaming up with Audrey.”, Leon explained. 

“You have a temper?”, his friend mocked him and Leon grit his teeth. 

Just when he wanted to now yell at Raihan, his father called him. “Boys, come inside, dinner is ready.”

“Dad made steak.”, the chubby boy explained excited. 

“Hm...”

Leon followed him into the house, which was much cooler inside and smelled a bit weirdly. 

“What is that smell?”, he asked surprised.

“Uhm...”, the father made and looked at Raihan.

“I will go and open some windows again.”, offered the son and was on the go again.

“I guess my wife left in a hurry and forgot some things.”, the man explained a bit embarrassed, before offering his hand. “Hi, I am James, Raihan's father.”

“I am Leon, nice to meet you.”, the boy replied and suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. He had no idea on what to say next. His head was blank. “Ni.. nice house.”

“Thank you, why don't you come to the kitchen. Do you want to drink something?”

“Yes, thank you.” 

The smell got worse in the kitchen, kind of sweet but in a very bad way. James smiled a little uncomfortable. “Sorry, about the smell.”

“What happened?”, Leon asked as he waited for a glass of water.

Now the man looked more than a little uncomfortable. “My wife was not at home for quite a while and forgot some organic materials might decay over her time of absence.”

“Oh...”

_Women! Nothing but trouble._

The boy huffed and James cocked a brow. “You and your girlfriend...”

“She is not my ... was my girlfriend!”, Leon growled. “She is just a.... a... urgh!” He slammed his fist on the counter.   
“I do not get her any more. She said she wanted to travel alone and then she follows that... that... horrible person, who does not allow her to battle and train or get better in any way shape or form and gives her orders to every single aspect of her life. And the worst is: She does it willingly. Before we left Sonia would not touch some slime in the lake, if she did not want to. But know?”  
Leon talked himself into rage again, his face was dark red and his grip clutched around the glass, before he emptied it quickly. “I have no idea what is going on and know she does not want to see me ever again.”

To his surprise James looked half surprised and half amused. He took the boys glass and gave him a can of lemonade. “Here, you need something stronger than water.”

Leon blinked confused and got even more so as the stranger patted his shoulder. 

“How old is she?”, James asked calmly.

“Ten, like me.”

“Hmhm...” He took a deep breath. “Maybe your parents should tell you about that much more, but if you want I can start with it, so you can maybe understand her a tiny bit better.”

“She went crazy.”

“Meeeh.”, James made with a grin. “No, so far off, but it is much more normal than you might think.”

“What?”

“Wait, I want to hit two Pidoves with one stone. RAIHAN!!!”, the father shouted loudly but not angrily and soon, they heard the son coming.

“Yes, dad?”, he asked still smiling brightly, thou it dimmed a little bit seeing his fathers stern gaze.  
“Grab yourself a can, we need to talk amongst men.”, James declared and Leon had no idea what was coming, but it sounded really heavy? Official? Important? Scary? Something like that. 

“Okaay?”, Raihan asked. “But you said...”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but believe me, when my father had that talk with me, I realized suddenly what the reason for the line: I need a drink was.”

The boys looked at each other and followed him wary.

“What has happened?”, Raihan whispered on the way up to the flat roof.

“I just told him about Sonia and he said he knows what is going on with her.”, Leon whispered back. “You dad is amazing.”

“He, he, I know.” The injured boy smiled proudly and puffed out his chest. 

On the roof they saw the sun setting and James sat down on a box, while the boy sat on the floor in front of them. He smiled and winked. 

“You know, lads, in movies stuff looks all easy, but this now is never going to be easy.”, he declared. “Leon, the reason why Sonia?” Leon nodded.   
“might act weirdly is lost likely because she is starting to grow up. Not that you two are not, but next ten years will be quite different than what you have known before. Girls well they have a little head start and one might argue that they have it worse than boys. You say she is crazy and scientifically seen? Her brain gets rewired, the whole HQ moves from one part of the brain to another. For a while when everything is under construction both HQ's are at war with one another and there are also bandits everywhere and missiles causing even more trouble, called hormones.”

“I knew she is crazy.”, the boy huffed. “Beyond saving.”

James smirked. “You two will be free from it either. Neither was I, your mum, Raihan, Qart or your parents, Leon. Growing up means getting through that and there is no graceful way in doing so.”

The boys looked shocked. 

“Knock me out and wait until it is over.”, asked Raihan.

“Not a chance, it is quite important to learn these lessons. In this time you make mistakes you will never be forgiven so easily again, like talking up to an authority or stealing your fathers car to impress a girl or have an emotional outburst or steal your brothers Duraludon.”, James counted down and suddenly both boys felt a bit exposed. “See? You are too starting.”

“Yeah, but Sonia is much worse.”, Leon explained defiantly. 

“Possibly, the first hit is the hardest for girls. They whole body change too. Have you two never asked yourself why men and women look often pretty different?”

“Uhm...”, Raihan made. 

“Because they have children?” James shook his head upon this answer. “No?”

“The change comes so they can have children. There are more visible changes first: Most likely Sonia will start growing suddenly much more than you two, as will her breasts and her hips will become rounder.”

Leon scratched his nose. “I might pay attention to that.”

Raihan nodded.

“You two will not!”, ordered James patiently. “Even you will most likely find it to be very exciting. It is rude and can make very uncomfortable and as far as I understood it from your aunt: Image you wear some really, really, embarrassing cloths and everybody would stare at you.”

“I would go to my room and change.”, suggested Raihan.

“Can you change your body? Because at one point and even I had that you might feel like an alien in a human skin or a human in an alien skin or both or non. Girls become pretty and you look in a mirror and all you see is a Grimsnarl and they look at you, look away and start talking to their friends and start giggling, but why? Everything becomes odd between boys and girls. One day it was okay to hold a girls hand, next day it is odd, that it becomes okay but also not and what if she does not want it... Leon, are you okay? You got a bit pale.”

“So, when Sonia did not want to... oh! Arceus!”, he moaned. “That why she would not want me to take her hand any more!”

“Yes, it might be incredibility awkward for her, because many people see a boy and a girl holding hands as a couple, like Raihan did. That made her in fact become so conscious about it. Now what if she is close to a boy will other people think? What will the boy think? And could she show a boy that she likes him without messing up?”

Raihan stared at the ground. “So now each time a girl will get close, it is a sign she likes one of us?”

“No.”

“Oh! Thank Arceus.”

“But it could be?” James smirked upon the boys desperate looks. “And than how do you respond? More so if you might like her or how would you go towards a girl, you like and ask her to go and eat an ice cream with you?”

“Does she like me back?”, Raihan asked, while Leon sat there frozen.

“You do not know? I mean she had been looking towards you, but than looked away and started giggling with her friends.”

“Yes, but that could mean everything!”, Leon moaned. “How can one know? And we will be little Grimsnarls.”

“Oh yes, at first, then you will grow, get pimples, start smelling bad, if you do not take showers once a day and after you sweat and hair will grow under your arms, around your penis, which will also grow and get erect randomly at first or by the slightest cause of arousal, which can be a girl walking by and having that visibly is not deemed appropriate.”

“What?”, Raihan yelled.

“Doomed! We are doomed!”, Leon moaned and both had deep red faces. “You what? I do not want to grow up any more!

“Yea, me neither. Girls might get crazy...”

“You get crazy too.”

“Yes, but now that too? How unfair!”

James smirked. “Girls start bleeding for 3 to 7 days each month under pain from their genitals, vaginas.”

“WAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”, the boys screamed in terror. But to be fair they just images fountains of blood like in these bad horror movies late at night.

“And that at the start also at random.”, ended the father. 

“What?”, Leon asked with a squeaky voice and Raihan emptied his can.

“Each month their bodies prepare to become pregnant and carry a child, if that does not happen, the stuff has to leave.”

Raihan's empty can dropped to the ground. “I need a drink.”

“S.. S... Sonia, can become a mum now?”, the boy asked shocked to the bone. “But.. she is... just too.. a girl... and where is the ... the dad... and..”

“Well, since that goes deeper than I would have expected, I need to mothers telephone number, Leon, so I can apologizing for traumatizing you.”, started James. “Later and yes, technically Sonia soon could become a mother if a boy impregnates her.”

“How?”, Leon croaked. “So we not do it by accident.”

“I will not sat that an accident is is not impossible, but a little bit more complicated. When your balls drop and you start producing sperm, which is a white liquid and you put your penis into her vagina...”

“No! Not gonna happen, you can stop there!”, Raihan promised. “That thing stays in my pants!”

James looked at his son patiently. “I doubt it and you shoot that sperm further into her, that can cause a baby.”

“Why would anybody... that sounds.. why?”, Leon asked.

“It feels good, when both agree to it.”, the father said with a simply shrug. “And most often it is also exciting. When you are older you will understand that easier, now it is just weird and disgusting I guess.”

“Thank Arceus, that we will look like Grimsnarls and no girl will ever want to get close to us.”, sighed Leon. 

“Maybe there are weird girls out there?”, asked Raihan scared. “After that nothing might shock me ever agin.”

“And you will not look like Grimsnarls forever either. When the pimples leave, your body is grown and the parts look like they fit to one another, your voice will be deeper and you might grow a beard.” Now the boys looked more interested.   
“Even you two Impidimps have the chance to look handsome, of course not as handsome as I am, but meh decent.” James smiled and ruffled their hair.   
“But that will take a while and Sonia might now start feeling like a Grimsnarl and being around a boy is weird, while being around girls might help her learn to deal with some things better. Just many girls can become mean and gather a crowd of followers around them. She will grow out if it for sure, just be patient.” 

“If she fells like a Grimsnarl that would explain way she coloured her hair also.”, noticed Raihan. 

“Right!”, Leon agreed and slapped his own forehead. “That makes sense now too! Hm... I feel bad now for being so harsh...”

“Telling her that you are worried is not wrong per se. There is a high chance that she also really had no clue what is going on and feels too scared or awkward to ask.”, assumed James.

“But she has to know.”, said Leon worried. 

“She will for sure.” The father nodded. “And she will hear even more on her first lecture.”

“First?”, Raihan asked. “Wait! There is more of this?”

“Well, that was one general overview on mostly the physical parts. There are some aspects of behaviour and advices towards girls once you get interested.” James smirked deviously. “Or do you want to hear how to hide your erected penis now already or ow to make a girl like making babies without making her feeling uncomfortable or even hurt her and how to have the fun without making a baby?”

“It can hurt them?”, Leon asked and Raihan shook his head. 

“It can and all the people will tell them that it will like torture, when in fact both can make sure that it might be not even be a little uncomfortable at all.”

“I.. I need a drink...”

Later that night Leon and Raihan would stare at the ceiling of Raihan's room and both their thoughts were still circling around.

“Yoh!”

“What?”

“Are you awake?”, Raihan asked.

“No, I use sleeptalk.”, growled Leon.

“Still moody?”

“Sorry.”, the guest mumbled. “Just, stuff in my head.”

“Yeah... have you thought that growing up would be that complicated?”

“No, I just thought you get bigger, get a job, marry and get some kids.”, answered Leon honestly. 

“Hmhm, me too.”, Raihan made. “Guess being around girls will be weird from now on.”

“Being in your own skin will be weird soon. Forget about girls, we will have our own shit to deal with.”

“Right, right. Hey, you have a girl friend. I mean not a girlfriend, but a girl friend. Ever thought of kissing her?”

“Urgh!”, Leon cringed. “Hell no! We are... were... will be friends again? But no.”

“Hm...”

“You?”

“Uhm... Once? Well, I did not want to but it was a bet and I could not torchic out of it.” Raihan shrugged. “She slapped me.”

“That sounds encouraging.” He shrugged. “I maybe the girls were just Sonia, Thea and Marry, nit somebody I wanted to make babies with and that process by the way sounds like: nope, not gonna do it, thank you. I am not allowed to hurt girls, not babies. I mean how does your dad want to show us? Does he sit next to us, while we do that and give us directions?”

“I do not want my dad be near me when I am naked down there!”,Raihan stated. “I need to the doctor anyway and I do not want to.”

“Why?”

“Mrm...”

“Come on! I am just another Grimsnarls in the making.”

“So a Morgrem?”, the owner of a room asked with a smirk and his friends rolled his eyes. “Okay, my balls are swelling up and get darker. Might be a tumour.”

Leon stared at him. “Yes, you should go tomorrow! I mean... you look beat up, you should have been with one yesterday.”

“I was, but my dad was there the whole time and he was furious after Quart had beaten me up.”  
“Your brother... why?”

“I stole his Duraludon.”

“You what?”, Leon sat up straight. “Is that one of these cases, where you do stupid things because you are dying?”

“No, Quart was just beaten by a guy and got himself a blowtorch for deserts and started to harm his Duraludon. I just... grabbed the pokeball, threw it, took the ball again and ran.”, Raihan shrugged. “Not very far or fast as you can image and so he got me. Dad and some security members had to pull him away. This will lead to him being interviewed and me... being disqualified from the tournament.”

“What? But you are a hero.”, Leon declared. “Your brother can be happy I was not there.”

“Because I am a hero, Chariman Rose said that I should first keep the Duraludon and train with it, so in a year we can start anew, when we are both ready again.”, the boy said with a smile. “I am on a break if you want it.”

“Oh.” Leon let himself fall again. “Hm... great, so I am left alone with these Mightyenas?”

“Look at it like that: You beat them this year and I can beat them next year. Year after that, Sonia will finish the rest of it and since three is the charm. That evil team will be dissolved.”, suggested Raihan. 

“Hm... sounds less awful than I expected.”, the guest agreed. “All right, but you better become really good. I really want to battle you again.”

“Sure, I am gonna be a new galarian legend!”, declared Raihan proudly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading.
> 
> Actually I wanted for Leon to get his Wishing Star... Mh... later. I guess James ( not that James) has to return. When I realized Leon was over dramatsizing and not able to calm down, I decived : Boy, we need to talk the talk.   
> And yes, James called Leons mum and apologized and that will be topic for another chapter ( part). James gave them a broad overview with some educational lies and some things only roughly mentioned. He also thought at one point: Why am I explaining this to this kid my sons knows and I just met?  
> But, well, letting Leon face society in that state have might caused more casulties.   
> Also Raihan does not have a tumour. 
> 
> Well, that wacky chapter wrote itself... quickly.   
> See you next time.


	9. The benefit of being an old friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonia needs to put Leon's head straight.

With Sonia hating him and Raihan out of order Leon stood soon alone in front of the Glimwood tangle. The forest inside was pitch black. No sunlight could pass the the leafy ceiling. Still there was some light from weirdly glowing mushrooms.   
He was so ready to go there, through the forest find the witch and get his next badge. There was just one problem: Leon's feet would not move. 

Something was holding him back from entering the dark, mysterious woods with its winding paths leading.. nowhere. 

“Fuck! I will die there.” He rubbed his face and walked up and down. 

In all honesty, Leon had prepared himself: called his mother, who had asked him if he was okay and had smiled weirdly at him and stocked up in food an water since he expected to be lost a while in there. His mother would sent help if he would not soon sent a message from Stow on Side again. 

But still knowing he used to get lost inside his own house sometimes and now entering these part of Galar was more than crazy. Carefully his hand wandered to Charmeleon's pokeball and the newt appeared. 

“Leon?”, it asked friendly.

“Hey mate.”, Leon said with a faked smile and got flustered. “Sorry for calling you... I guess... never mind...” He wanted to call him back, but Charmeleon raised its hand. 

“Char?”, he asked and leaned his head slightly sideways. 

The boy sighed and pointed to the woods. “Alright, we have to get in there and I.. I am bad with not getting lost. I fear we will either not make it or be lost for all eternity.”

“Meleon, Leon, meleon.” The tiny newt looked fierce at his trainer and took the humans hand, while leading him. 

Leon lowered his gaze and followed the pokemon ashamed. 

_Great! Maybe Charmeleon should take over from here. Now he is leading me.... I am pathetic._

Annoyed he walked behind the newt and looked to the ground constantly. He was so tense Charmeleon could feel it, but since he had never seen his trainer in this mood, he assumed he was sad. So Charmeleon started singing and making weird faces, everything to make his trainer happy, who just got more and more frustrated. 

Leon called Charmeleon back and checked the map. 

“I will not let my ace become the leader here.”, he growled. 

What would other people think, if Leon followed a pokemon as the true leader of his team. That he was weak, a straw figure, a puppet and he would not let that happen. He would find a way to Ballonlea and he would proof to Charmeleon that he was be leader. Confident and angry the boy chose a direction. 

Two days later he was hungry after a bunch of Impidimps had stolen his food, most of his pokemon except Charmeleon were exhausted and he had no clue where they were. But stubbornly Leon swore himself not to ask his ace for help, not even when it started raining and he sat under one of the big green mushrooms. 

“As soon as it stops I will be in Ballonlea.”, he whispered over and over. 

But it rained for hours! The water started crawling up to him, so he could not sit on the ground any more, bit the mushroom was too small for him to fit under it standing. So had to find another place.  
Soon the rain had drenched him completely and without matches and dry wood or a cave a warm fire was nothing more than a dream. He could not even find another big mushroom any more, but still the thought of calling for Charmeleon made him angry. 

“Rrr wow! Wow!”, he heard and stopped. 

_What was that? There were no Growlithes up here and Yamper would also be found anywhere but here._

“Awwwwwwwwuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh!”, it howled with a rather high pitched voice. “Awuuuuuuh!”

Carefully Leon followed the sound. 

“Räff! Räff!”, it barked.

A smaller dog pokemon.

The voice got louder and Leon looked around. 

“WOW!WOW!” The barking came from above and as the boy turned around, a brown, muddy pokemon dropped from the sky. “Wow! Wow!”

Leon chuckled as Yamper licked his face clean. The puppy was covered in mud itself head to tail. 

“Yamper?”, he asked and put him down. “What are you doing here?”

“Räff! Räff!”, it barked, ran circles around the boy before running in one direction and looking back towards him.

“You want me to follow you?”

“Awuuuh!”

“Okay, buddy.” Leon gladly followed the tiny dog, who corrected his course each time he tended to alter from the path, like a stray Wooloo.

Finally! 

Ballonlea's half timbered houses came in sight and Leon flowed Yamper running to the pokemon center. There he noticed he had not thought things through. Sonia was standing in front of him, wearing a cap and smirking.

_Of course she must be here! Oh crabby!_

Leon turned his head and looked to a wall. 

“Hey.”, he said intentionally short, so he could say nothing wrong. Surely she would start mocking him, she was still mad and not had to help him. 

“Hey.”, she replied and walked next to him, to follow his gaze. “Something interesting up there?”

Leon jumped back. “No, nothing, I just...”

His gaze mat her eyes and he felt how his cheeks got warmer. 

_Do not stare at her!_

He pointed to the nurse's counter. “I got to... yeah, bye.”

“Hu?”, Sonia asked confused as she watched Leon run off, like some Combees were after him. She looked down to Yamper. “What is going on?”

“Yamp?”, the pokemon asked. 

At the counter Leon stared down on the plate, as he suddenly had noticed that nurse joy was also a girl. 

_Okay, that must be a conspiracy or something. No way there were that many girls around two days ago._

“I will take care of your pokemon and you should get under a shower young man and get some fresh clothes.”, the nurse suggested.

“Hmhm.”, the boy made.

He turned around and there was Sonia. 

“Iks!”, he made and stared shocked at her. “Why are you so close?”

“Uhm? What?”, Sonia asked and came even closer. “Hey, do you have a fever your face is all r...”

“Gotta go, see you...”, he interrupted her and ran headless into the back of the center. 

“You know that boy?”, nurse Joy asked puzzled.

“Yes.”, said Sonia a bit guilts. “We had a ... I was acting stupid and he pointed that out to me. I guess he is still angry.” She puffed her cheeks. “But how will I able to say I am sorry, with him running away constantly?”

A bit later Leon sat clean in the centers laundry room just wearing his trunks staring at the washing machine. He sighed constantly. Why must she be here too? Did he not have enough to deal with? He needed to train Honegde and put Charmeleon back into his place.

“There you are!”, Sonia suddenly stood in the door frame and smirked at him. “At least you will not run from me looking like that. Pancham trunks?”

Leon again felt how his cheeks became warmer. “G... go away!”

She chuckled and offered him a can of lemonade. “Here, a peace offering.”

“T.. thank you...”, he mumbled, snatched the can the made sure that he was as far away as possible from her. 

“Hey, are you okay?”, Sonia asked worried.

“Yeah, why wouldn't I?”, he asked with a higher voice than usual. 

“Because now you are acting weird?”, she noticed. “Leon... oh! For Arceus sake! Look at me.”

“I do not want to stare at you!”, he declared.

“Well, than don't but you can at least look me into the eyes while talking to me, can you?”, she asked.

“That would be staring, wouldn't it?”, he asked back. 

“No? What? Why do you even care?”, she wanted to know.

“Because you feel like you look like a Grimsnarl and insecure and I do not want to make it worse!”, he declared frustrated. 

“Oh!”, she made and started laughing. 

Leon groaned. “Oh! Great! I am an idiot now..”

“Yes, you are and you are the cutest idiot I have ever met.”, she giggled and suddenly hugged him, what left Leon completely baffled. “You face is red again.”

“Just leave me alone.”, he moaned and smirked. “Where are your friends?”

“I sent them to the Distortion World.”, said Sonia. “When your mum called me that you were lost somewhere in Glimwood Tangle, Audrey gave me an ultimatum they or you.” She sighed. “And that was hard. I was truly ... mad with you for telling me stuff I really did not want to hear.”

“I admit I should have been nicer and...”

“You were great.”, corrected Sonia him. “Your outburst was honest and the girls were pretty fake. Aurdey wanted me to give myself up and you yelled at me for not being myself... When that hit me... boy, kicked them out of my life with a bang!”

Leon smiled at her and unknowingly puffed his chest a bit. “I am so proud of you.”

“Thank you, I sent Yamper to catch you.” Sonia smiled. “I thought I should trust my pokemon a bit more you like, so I can beat you next year.” She scratched her cheek lightly. “Maybe that was the reason I struggled but you and Charmeleon are such a great team, I decided to... Leon?”

The boy looked angrily at the floor. “I am not sure if we are a great team.”

“What?”

“I am not sure. Charmeleon takes over to much, I think he thinks that he is the team leader now. I really have to show him...”

“Leon, stop.”, Sonia asked shocked. “I do not think that Charmeleon is trying anything like that.”

“It refused to go back into its ball and tried to lead me.”, he hissed. “It did not obey.”

“Yes, it took the lead because it was worried about you and the rest.”

“I am the leader, I should have...”

“Leon, you sense of orientation is so bad you got even lost on route one once! That is a straight line and you can see the other village or what ever Postwick is!”, reminded Sonia him angrily.  
“Charmeleon knows that. Raihan said you got lost in the Wild Area and got sick. You were not completely back on track when we left Hammerlock and I bet Charmeleon just wanted you not to get sick again, you dumb fool! I was worried for you!”

“I can look after myself.”, Leon mumbled sulking. 

“In most cases, yes. But not in Glimwood Tangle!”, she growled annoyed. “And here I thought you were an amazing trainer for being able to trust your team that much.”

Leon flinched. “I am a good trainer, but Cha...”

“No! The problem is not Charmeleon, Leon. Don't you dare to make him responsible for your insecurities and delusions! Right now, you are just a bad excuse of a trainer.” Sonia punched the wall helplessly. “I would really like to battle you... but thanks to my own shit I have no team that could beat yours. That is it! Give me Charmeleon! You do not deserve it any way.” 

“What?”, Leon asked shocked and his hand moved to the pokeball. “No!”

“Why not? If you fear that it will overthrow you? You two could duke it out right outside of the center, come on!”, she challenged him. 

He looked away patty. “And give it to my rivals hands? You can not believe that I am that stupid.”

“Oh! After what you just said? You would not believe it.”, she replied spiteful and took his arm. “Get up, Pancham butt! We will settle this.”

“I will not give it to you.”, Leon repeated himself.

“Him and you do not want him.”

“I want it...”

“Him!”

“to obey me and me be seen as a respectable leader.”

“You were, but now you have just proofed that you are a little, insecure, cruel boy. Arceus, I want to slap you!”, Sonia stated. “And here I thought I was dumb, but you beat my even in this, Leon, you truly did.”

Now Leon looked ashamed to the ground. “I swear I am not that ... outsch! Hey! You hit me!”

“I know.”, Sonia replied still with her hand up. “Ready for a second round?”

“No! Heck! Why are you so mad?”

She made a face. “Honestly, because I am so disappointed in you that I want to strangle you. I thought you were an amazing trainer, I was incredibly jealous and intimidated by your trust in your team and how skilled and devoted they were, especially Charmeleon, the poor thing.”

“Hm...”, Leon made very, very humbled down. 

“Don't hm me, you brat!”, Sonia pinched his cheek. 

“Outsch! Let me go!”

He rubbed his cheek and looked down, feeling miserable now. “Fuck! I put my whole team in danger and myself, I caused you to break up with your friends and all because of that?”

“You are not that important. I guess I would have told them to go and kiss some Muk soon.”, Sonia made a face. “I never liked them, but I wanted them to like me. Maybe I was possessed by a haunter or something. But you really did put your team in danger.”

Leon moaned and let his head drop. “I should really not listen to my head right now. That thing is clearly out of... fuck!”

“Since when do you swear so much?”, asked Sonia surprised. “If your mum would hear you.. Hello? Galar to Leon are you there?”

“My brain has maybe started rewiring! I will turn soon into a Grimsnarl...”, he murmured. “It has started.”

“Into... are you cursed?”, the girl asked wary. 

Again when he looked at her he blushed deeply and it was kind of cute Sonia noticed with a smirk.

“It means... I was told... fuck!”, Leon moaned. “Raihan's dad, who is the coolest adult on the planet had a theory why you were acting so weird and also that it would happen to us too, just a bit different and a bit later. It is the whole growing up stuff... “ Now Sonia blushed too and looked away. “Yeah, one part is, that your head is temporarily out of order. Guess that is what I will start with.”

“I can not believe you asked him that.”, Sonia mumbled. 

“I did not ask anything. I thought you would hate me and I could not make a rhyme out of why you would hang out with these spinsters.”, explained Leon. “And suddenly I knew about that making a baby will hurt you.”

Sonia covered her hands and moaned. “Do not say stuff like that, please! It is so weird.”

“S.. Sorry.”, the boy stammered. For a while both were silent. 

Sonia sighed. “Now I understand why everybody things being ten is too young for this journey. I would rather have one super uncomfortable talk with my grandma then searching for the clues all over Galar.”

“You like solving riddles.”

“Yes, I do, but is it something different to ask a stranger for a book than talking with a nurse Joy about...”, she blushed. “Nevermind.”

“About what? Please do not tell me it is the creepy blood thing.”, asked Leon. 

“What? No! Arceus! Raihan's dad told you way too much!”, noticed Sonia with a high pitched voice. “No, but I may soon need a new swimsuit and other stuff.” She pulled her shirt down so it would show everything underneath more clearly and at first Leon did not notice anything. So he squinted his eyes and noticed a strange shadow at her chest. 

Wait a sec... that if it were a bit bigger could be...

“UWAHHH!”, he leaned back with a fairly red face. “You... this... “

“Yes, Leon, these will be one day boobs.”, explained Sonia with a grin, she started laughing. “You should see your face.”

“No, I am pretty sure It will glow in the dark right now.”, he admitted. “You blind sided me.”

“Sorry, you deserved some punishment.”, she reminded him. 

“Uhm, maybe.”, Leon agreed and looked down there again. “How big will they be?” 

Sonia lifted his chin. “Eyes up here, you brat. Now you were staring.”

“Sorry, but... I am curious.”

“How shocking.”, Sonia rolled her eyes. “Your clothes are ready soon. I await you and Charmeleon outside.”

Leon growled since his shoes were still wet and so he met Sonia outside barefooted. She was waiting and stretched out her hand. 

“What?”, he asked baffled. 

“Your ace?”

“You are still joking?”, Leon asked. “I told you...”

“You can tell me that all day long. But I know your stubborn knucklehead, it will always be in your brain, if we do not make you see it.”, Sonia declared. “Besides, what are you afraid of? Since you are convinced that he thinks he is better than you? Or are you having seconds thoughts about that statement?”

“Of course! You just told me...”

“But I should not have to!”, Sonia hissed. “You should know.”

Hesitant Leon reached down to his belt and threw the demanded ball over to Sonia. 

_Charmeleon will be ..._

He sighed and braced himself. 

Sonia turned around and moved some steps away. “A 2 against 2?”

“You make the rules.”, Leon said simply and chose Palpitoad to be his lead. Sonia said she had no trained team besides Yamper, which would not harm his chosen mon. 

“Fine, Charmeleon I chose you.”, she yelled and his ace materialized in front of him. 

“Charm.... Chameleon?” His mon looked utterly confused seeing his trainer as his opponent. It turned around and saw Sonia. “Char?” 

But Sonia ignored him. “What is it now, Leon? Scared to fight your rival?”

“Tsk!”, Leon made and called for Palpitoad. Charmeleon made two steps backwards. 

“Charmeleon, char?” It looked scared and helpless. 

Sonia walked towards him. “Leon, is a fool, you know. He was scared you were trying to undermine his respect as leader. Why don't we show him what kind of a pokemon you are?”

“Char?”, it made and stared at his trainer and the sad look broke Leon's heart. It looked down and grabbed its tail. 

“Charmeleon? Slash!”, commanded Sonia.

“Meleon!”, it shook its head and refused to attack. 

“I said slash!”, he girl repeated herself. 

“Meleon!”, it cried and Leon lowered his gaze. Palpitoad was just confused and looked confused at his trainer. 

“Palpi-toad?”

“Come on, Charmeleon. He is not worthy of you, you tried to help him as friends and partners do, yet he thought that you were tricking him.”, explained Sonia. 

“Charmeleon!”, he shook his head. 

“Palpitoad? Pal pal palpitoad!”, made the frog pokemon surprised. “Toad?”

“It is true... and I am so sorry!”, Leon admitted ashamed. 

“Cha...” 

“Charmeleon, use slash!”, asked Sonia a third time and Leon could hear his friend coming. But the newt did not attack the frog, it lashed out to his his trainer. In the last moment he stopped. Leon opened an eye to see his ace crying.

“Charmeleon! Char char meleon!” Charmeleon hit him, without using his claws. Helpless Leon stood there and after a moment tried to hug his friend, who was clearly upset. But the fire type pushed him away and ran off.

“Charmeleon!”, he cried and wanted to go after him, but Sonia held him back. “Hey!”

“Let him, he needs a moment.”, she asked her friend and Leon snatched his arm free. 

“I got it. You could have just... “ He turned away his gaze. “Thank you, like I said, I do not know what had rode me, but seeing for sure that... Fuck! I am such a idiot! How could I ever... You know what, if he truly despises me know, would you look after him? I know you would do better than I did.”

Sonia smiled and hugged him lightly. “Come on, it will not be that bad.”

“I would not bet on that. I mean if I was him, I would not forgive myself that easily.”, Leon mumbled afraid. 

“Luckily he is much more mature than you are. Where ever he had learnt that?”, she said. “I will sent Yamper to look for him, okay?”

“Yamp, yamp!”, the puppy replied and ran off. 

“Sometimes you need an old friend to dig you out of a crisis.” She nudged his shoulder “Come on, you wear no shoes.”

Leon followed her inside. “How did you know? How could you have been so sure?”

Sonia smiled. “I noticed that he really tries hard to say your name. I thought he was cute being so dedicated towards you. He sounded very proud.”

“I never noticed that.”, he admitted still ashamed. “Great! Now I feel even worse. It was cruel for you to tell him.”

“It was even more cruel from you to assume he would do something like this.”, corrected Sonia. “And I know you, you would not had been able to pass that thought. Each time something would have gone wrong in a fight, you would have blame Charmeleon.”

“Not true!”, Leon protested.

“Each time your family is in trouble, you blame your dad.”, she told him. 

“Well, he is.”, the boy mumbled. 

“Leon, you blamed him for your mum having trouble paying the repair of the roof.”, Sonia reminded him. 

“Well, he could have supported her more.”

“Does he pay for you and Hop?”

“Yes.”

“That is all he has to pay and your mum has her own shop. I think it would rather be a slap in the face for her to be force to still rely on him.”, Sonia assumed and sat down on a couch in the waiting room. 

“Hrm... maybe.”, Leon agreed and let himself drop without taking the eyes from the door. 

She rolled her eyes. “He will approach you, when he is ready. You know? You never told me, why they separated.”

Leon got tense and did not look at her. “Because he is a hound. Mum had cried often and he was often not at home, working over night. People were gossiping. At one night they woke me with their fighting. Mum had told him she was pregnant with Hop and dad was furious, that she had somehow tricked him into another child. She yelled at him, that she was surprised too, that he had the manhood after making so many other women lucky. He said unlike us, they would make him happy. So... I know my dad never wanted us. So why should I want him? I guess Hop has such a short name so he would not write his one wrong like he always does mine.”

Sonia looked at him. “And you have not told your mum?”

“No, mum would feel guilty if she knew I know.”, Leon shrugged. “So do not tell her. Sometimes ignorance is a bliss.”

“Sometimes you have to atone.”, she mumbled in defence. 

“Sometimes.”, he agreed and stared at the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading.   
> Soooo after Leon has come off so often as the "correct" one, no it was his time to mess up. Not like before when he was trying to do the right thing, but in a case were he really made a mistake. Having him stumble over the pride he gains and the pressure of entering the spotlight more and more, this will be a constant struggle for him. 
> 
> After all the wise words from her friend, now it is time for Sonia to return the favour and put leon in his place. And maybe she has left Audrey, does not mean that her struggle is over for now. I guess Leon is grateful towards her otherwise he would not have told her about his parents divorce. 
> 
> The last important role this time had of course the loyal Charmeleon, who's heart just got broken. This will be a point for its character developement which will lead to become an equal partner to Leon. Until now he was more of a servant or a secretary and also kind of taken for granted. 
> 
> As always I hope you liked it and see you soon. ^^


	10. The new old team

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon is worried sick, Sonia feels guilty, Yamper has a sore throat and then a fire alarm rings!

Leon stared down at the homework, so he would not stare at the door. Charmeleon still had not returned and not even Sonia started to become unease. 

_Crabby! Maybe I went too far. Arceus! I ruined the friendship my best friend had with his ace. How do I make up for this?_

A bit guilty she looked over to Leon doing dome geography, which made her stick out her tongue and gag. 

“What?”, he asked surprised.

“Mind if I copy that?”, she asked.

“What?”, Leon was stunned. “You want to copy my homework? Sonia! How far have you fallen?”

Sonia slapped his arm. “Shut up!” Leon started laughing. “I just think geography is pointless. You better study hard! Maybe that will help you not getting lost all the time. Stop laughing!”

“So... sorry.”, he gasped. “Yeah, you can. But it is kind of interesting also, if you remember the different zones of landscape and what kind of pokemon live there, you can assume where they would live in Galar too.”

“You have weird hobbies.”, noticed Sonia.

Leon shrugged. “I think about stuff like that, when I walk around. Would it not cool to have a volcano around?”

“No!”, she decided very much to her friends disappointment. “If that think erupts so many people and pokemon would die!”

“Urm... right.”, he admitted and glanced to the door. Volcanos and the more dry area around them were the home of the Charmander family. 

“He will come back.”, Sonia promised. 

“You said that for hours... I ... I really want to look for him. Maybe he is waiting....” He thought loud and made a face. “But then what if he needs more time? Why was I such an idiot in the first place?” Leon looked away. “What if he is done with me?”

Sonia opened her mouth and closed it again. “You have to trust, that he will forgive you.”

“Would that not be worse?”, he asked in a low voice. “Being so sure of myself that he will return no matter what?”

“Uhm... point taken...”, admitted Sonia. “But hm... look, you two were great and...” Leon snorted. “What?”

“Were we? Looking back I guess I made many mistakes from the get go. When he hatched I just saw him at the laboratory. He was a baby and it took an eternity and you to point out to me, why he did not trust me enough. Then before our first battle I accidentally called him useless and messed up his training! And not this... “ His voice had become shaky and he looked away. Leon's shoulders were shaking and Sonia just stared at him shocked to the bone. 

He was that close to cry. She caused a situation, that made him almost cry. 

_Fuck! What am I doing?_

Sonia took off her base cap and pulled it over Leon's head. “Here, you can pull it down so nobody will see, when you are in a bad mood. And... I am sorry. I should have thought things through and not have chosen such a wood hammer method.”   
He pulled the cap a bit more down and his shoulder shook stronger. Out of her helplessness she laid an arm around his shoulders. “He will come back, I am sure.” 

Leon did not respond since he was still fighting to not cry out loud. 

The next day Leon had to go to the gym and confirm his appointment for the gym fight the following day. He enlisted himself and his team: Palpitoad, Rihorn, Doublade, his ace in this battle and Charmeleon. The boy swallowed dryly.

“Are you okay?”, the league official asked. 

“Hmhm.”, the boy replied. 

Sonia waited outside and saw her friend coming still with his hands buried and his gaze lowered. Charmeleon still had not returned. Now she was feeling more than guilty for how she had handled things. 

“When will be your fight?”, she asked him. 

“Tomorrow 11 am.”, Leon said with a low voice. “Anything new?”

Sonia made a face. “No, not yet. But I am sure they will come back soon. What are your plans for today?”

Leon shrugged. “I am not much in the mood for anything.”

“Okay, then how about Doublade and you help me train my....hm...”, she made. “Actually I do not want to train my team besides Yamper.”

“Why not?”, the boy asked with a tinge of anger in his voice. 

“Audrey chose them for me.”, explained Sonia and looked away under his stern gaze. “I never liked these species, you know? They are these typically girly pokemon, tiny and cute.”

“Those the boys usually teased you guys for wanting to use?”, he asked.

“Exactly, Gossifleur and Milcery and Applin.”, Sonia sighed.

“Okay but Milcery is cute.”, he admitted and his cheeks became a bit reddish when she looked at him. “What?”

“Did you just said something is cute?”, she asked with teasingly.

Now Leon blushed ferociously. “Shut up.”

“Okay.”, she complied grinning. “But I can not do anything with such weaklings.”

“If you think your pokemon is weak, the problem is not the pokemon but you.”, grumbled Leon. “It is you job to make them stronger.”

“That I know, but I do not know how if I can not use them in battle. Applin knows two moves and one does not even do damage!”, she complained. 

“Hm.... oh!”, the boy made and searched for something in his bag. “I can maybe help you out on this one.”

“Really?”

“Hmhm, I have seen a guy giving an apple to an Applin and it evolves into an Appletun.”, Leon explained. “But it works only with a special kind of apple and he gave me one after I had beaten him.”

“That was nice of him.”, noticed Sonia. 

“Milo is a nice guy. He lives at Turffield and helps out young trainers since the way from Motostoke to Turffield is so long. Ah! Here it is. He told me there are many pokemon, which evolve not during a battle, but need objects or certain weather effects or or or.”, the boy said and pulled a red and green apple from his back. “Ready for an Appletun?”

“Yes! But do you really want to give that to me?”, Sonia asked careful. 

Leon grinned. “Milo told me that there is a tree in the Wild Area, where I can find more of these and I have not an Applin.”

“Okay.” Sonia reached for her pokeballs and called for her Applin, before cringing. The pokemon was green, when it should have been red. The girls had teased her for that. 

Why I have joined them in the first place? I was such an idiot.

Still she looked over to Leon, to see how he would react. Applin shyly jumped behind its trainer, since it had also noticed who the humans had reacted to it so far. 

“Wow! It is green!”, Leon made excited. “It reminds me of these sours gummy candies! All the Applins I have ever seen were red! Maybe yours is special! How cool is that?” He crouched down to get a better look. 

“Applin?”, the pokemon made and looked around Sonia's leg. 

“Hey, you.” The boy grinned widely and reached the apple towards it. “Wanna bite?”

Applin looked confused up to its trainer. “Applin?”

“It is okay, Leon is a friend.”, explained Sonia. 

“Plin.” The tiny pokemon jumped forward to Leon and sniffed at the apple. “Applin! Applin! Applin!”

It got all excited and suddenly a teenie tiny, green worm crawled from the old apple to Leon. Both children looked surprised as it bit into the new one. Suddenly both lit up and grew, before a green Flapple revealed itself. 

“Uwah!”, Leon made and Sonia looked at the new, more dragon like pokemon,, that flew around her. 

“Flapp, flapp, flapp, Flapple!”, the green pokemon cheered. 

“That is not an Appeltun.”, noticed Leon.

Sonia checked her pokedex: “It ate a sour apple, and that induced its evolution. In its cheeks, it stores acid able of causing chemical burns. So it was a sour apple.”

“Sorry.”, he said.

But Sonia smiled. “Don't be sorry. You knew at least how to evolve it and personally I think Flapple looks much cooler and can cause chemical burns! Come on! Help me train it!”

“Okay, okay!”, Leon agreed as she pulled his arm, giving him not much of a chance. “Doublade, I need you help.” The haunted swords appeared. “Okay let's train.”

By the evening Flapple also had learned a new move, Dragon pulse and Sonia offered Leon to cook for him as a thank you. They had managed to distract him all day, but no, when the world became quiet again, he boy turned blue. He poked his food over the plate, sighed and stared out of the window. Sonia looked sadly at him, while feeding Flapple and Doublade. 

“Doub?”, the ghost pokemon asked. 

She made a face. “I made a huge mess, Doublade.”

“Doub-blade... blade.”, the swords made. 

Sonia patted it. “Do must promise me something.”

“Doublade.”

“You have to give your best tomorrow.”, she asked. “Do not let him lose. I caused the reason, why he is so distracted. I made Charmeleon, run away.”

“DOUB!”, it hissed. “Doub doub- blade!”

“Yes, yes, I over did it. Leon... he had acted badly, but I was acting high and mighty... and we both hurt your friend.”, she admitted. 

“Flapple?”, her dragon interfered. “Flapp flap.”

Sonia nodded. “You should rest. We will leave tonight in a secret mission.”

“Flapple!”, it said determined.

“Doublade?”, the ghost asked.

“We will head out for your second in command. If it is waiting for Leon, then I will explain, that he fool listened to me. I will bring it back.”, Sonia promised. “I will do my very best so we are back before the match.”

“Doublade!”

Leon was waiting for Sonia in the waiting room of the center. He was walking up and down. They wanted to go to the gym together. She had bought a ticket to see him. So where was she?

“Leon?”, asked nurse Joy worried. “Shouldn't you leave soon?”

“I... I am bad with direction.”, he admitted. “Sonia wanted to look after me, so I actually get there.”

“Oh! Deary.”, she said sad. “I fear Sonia left last night.”

“What?”, he asked shocked. “Why?”

“I do not know, but it is on tape.”, she explained. 

Great! I must be an awful person, if my two best friends leave me. 

As if he was not feeling bad enough. 

“I can bring you over to the gym.”, nurse Joy offered. 

But Leon declined. “I still have my Doublade. Thank you.”

With the help of his trusty steel type, Leon made it to the gym and even through the challenge first. Even he was to distracted to get one answer straight. Doublade seemed to fight on its own, when he was not paying attention. 

He sighed when he healed his friend in the dungeon to the stadium. “Thanks mate.”

“Doublade.”, the swords replied.

“I know I am not at my best today, but you are a great help.”, he acknowledged and the pokemon patted his head.

“Doub Doub.”, it said friendly. “Doublade.”

“You are right, let's beat the old bag.”

Sonia was running behind Yamper to the gym station, when the noise from inside explode and the door slid open. Some children already left completely hyped up by the match. Charmeleon was standing there unsure if it should enter or not. 

“We are too late.”, she huffed. “Dam it! Hey! You there! Kid!”

“Hm?”, a boy made. 

“Has the challenger won?”, she asked scared.

The boy smiled. “You bet it!”

“Leon was awesome.”, another boy said and Charmeleon frowned. He made some fighting sounds and gestures. “And his Doublade. Boy ho boy!”

“If you want to meet him, they are inside having a party.”, the first boy explained. 

“A party? Leon?”, Sonia asked.

“Meleon.”, Charmeleon huffed and turned away.

“Yeah, towns folk is very impressed. He beat Opal without dynamaxing. That guy is good.”, the second boy noticed. The door slid open again. “Oh! There he is.”

Leon came out of the building and he did not look like he wanted to party or even that he had won. Doublade was hovering behind him. It tipped on his trainers shoulder, so the boy looked up. 

He stopped and stared surprised at Charmeleon before he blinked to Sonia. That he repeated three times more, before Sonia visibly amused gave Charmeleon a soft push. The fire type was frozen because of its insecurity. 

He had not been running far away, but it had taken Sonia quite a while to convince him. The pokemon had been hurt and stubborn. He looked back to Sonia still a bit unsure, when something squeezed him and sobbed at his neck. Suddenly Leon hang there and used some kind of water move. Did that fool try to weaken him? 

He glanced over to Sonia, who raised her hand and made patted the air. Charmeleon mimicked the motion confused and hit Leon's back. The human stopped shaking and looked him in the eyes. Leon's eyes were red and water was dripping out of them and also from his nose. Charmeleon remembered that the tiny human Hop, Leon's baby evolution also often looked like this. 

_Great! He is devolving when I am not around. Sonia was right, he needs me!_

“Sorry, pal.”, Leon said and rubbed the water away. “I am so sorry.”

“Leon.”, Sonia asked with a soft voice. “Maybe not here. Let's go to the center. Doublade looks a bit scratched.”

“Okay.”

“What's up, boss?”, Doublade asked. 

“You evolved?”, Charmeleon asked back with a grin. 

“Yeah, needed to, wanted to. Big boss planned me to deal with that weird ol human.”, the steel type explained. 

“How has he been? Leon, I mean.”

“Hm... Honestly? He was bad, I mean really bad. I fought more on my own than that he gave me any directions. Come to think about that, yesterday it was the same. BB is really not up his game lately.”, Doublade mused. “Maybe he is sick. You also have been looking better.”

“Hm.”, he made and looked to Yamper. 

“I am not saying anything.”, the puppy with the deep voice said. “My throat is sore.”

“I get it, I get it.”, Charmeleon sighed.

“What?”, Doublade asked. 

Yamper stopped. “Will you tell them?”

The fire type was hesitant. “Leon thought I would not respect him and he endangered us all by doing so. “

“What?”, Doublade asked. 

“I was... not around the last days.” Doublade ironheaded him. “That is not very effective.”

“Hey, hey, hey!”, Leon said and pushed Doublade away. “What is going on here?”

“Maybe Doublade is challenging Charmeleon now, that it has won a battle for you?”, mused Sonia. 

“Hrmpf.”, Leon made and called Doublade back. 

“What?”, Charmeleon asked, but all Leon understood was: “Meleon?”

He smiled and hugged him again. 

“Aww! The old grumpy newt, was missed.”, made Yamper some fun of him. 

“Shut up!”, Charmeleon asked amused and patted Leon's back again. 

“Come, he is just a basic evolution human. He can make some mistakes.”, the electric type gave him to think. “I mean, Sonia did so too.”

“She never claimed you to manipulate her.”

“No, but she had these bad friends and I was so angry with her. I barked and ran away.”

“You abandoned her for one evening. She never even noticed.”, Charmeleon said. 

“He was even sorry, before you two had the fight. Sonia yelled at him, when he had confessed.”, Yamper explained (again). “You do not have to forgive him today.”

“Hmrpf.”, the fire type made. 

Leon gave the pokemon to nurse Joy before he looked over to Charmeleon. “Do you want a check up too? It has been really chill the last days.”

Charmeleon shook his head. 

“Okay.”, he looked at Sonia, who was standing in the waiting area. She shrugged a bit, so Leon took a deep breath. “Come, mate. Guess I need to make things up.”

He walked out again with Charmeleon following him. They walked into the Glimwood Tangle. 

“Okay, that should be enough.”, he said and took a deep breath. “I am so sorry, you can not image how much. I really messed up and I was a fool for not trusting you. You have each right to be mad. If I had listened to you, we would not been needed to be rescued. But worse was, that when I told Sonia part of me wanted her to agree with me. I do not know why, but I wanted to be right and you to be bad and I can not even tell you why.” 

Charmeleon looked at him and nodded. The fire type sat down and looked at him. Leon did not lower his gaze nor did he look away, he looked sad and tense, but he did not avoid this situation. Charmeleon nodded. And faintly smiled at his trainer, who released a breath. 

“So, you will stay?”, he asked.

“Charmeleon.”, the pokemon agreed and got hugged again. “Meleon!”

Leon jumped back. “Sorry, I just was very happy. I mean I am.”

Charmeleon snickered. “Char. Char char?”

“It went good, I guess... I was not.”, the boy sighed. “Doublade first big battle and I was barely there. What a great trainer I am...”

“Char me, Leon.”, it said and lifted his chin a bit. “Charmeleon.”

“You are right. Tomorrow. Man, you can not image how glad I am that Sonia found you.”, he admitted.

“Meeleon. Char?”

“You are right, but she had only the best intentions. Hey! You know what? I would like to give her a present for helping us or more so me out.”, Leon declared and got his ace's attention. “Mind to help me?”

“Charmeleon.”

“Do you have to lead me around and back to the city, you are aware of that, are you?”

The fire type rolled his eyes, jumped up and nodded his head toward the deeper parts of the woods. Soon they reached the parts with the eerie glowing mushrooms and the high grass.

“Me, Leon?”, it asked and whiffed in the air.

“A certain pokemon.”, explained Leon. 

“Char!”, Charmeleon made and took his hand, to lead him into the woodwork. 

“Where are you leading me to?”, Leon asked and Charmeleon laid a claw over his shout. Careful they walked to a meadow where a herd of Ponyta were playing.

“Charmeleon.”, the fire type presented proudly. 

“Woah!”, Leon mouthed. “Let's get one.”

Not much later the boy put the newest member of his team in its pokeball in his pocket. “Great! Now let's look for Sonia's pokemon.”

“Charmeleon?”, the pokemon asked confused. “Char?”

Leon shook his head. “Sonia does not like Ponyta and after the whole disaster with Audrey, I can not come to her with another cutesy type. But Impidimps are living here.”

“Char?”, the fire type covered its eyes and sighed. “Charmeleon! Char char-me-le-on! Char.”

“What? You stormed off without asking! I would have told you.”, Leon replied.

“Charmeeeeleeeon, Leon.”

“Hä? What does that have anything to do with that?”, the boy asked a bit nervous. 

“Char?” Charmeleon grinned slyly.

“No! I don't!”

“Char char char! Char char char!”, the fire type giggled. 

“You are so annoying!”, moaned Leon. “You will get that all back, mate.”

They caught the Impidimp, which where everywhere in the forest and arrived back at the center at sunset. 

Sonia was inside copying some of Leon's geography homework, that she had accidentally packed into her bag. Yamper watched her in a judging way. 

“What? He will not be mad.”, she assured herself more so than the puppy.

“Yamp yamp.”

“Are you having a clue how often he had copied me?”, she asked the small electric type, which yawned. 

“Who copied whom?”, Leon asked and Sonia flinched since to her it was like he had just appeared out of thin air. 

“Leon! Arceus!”, she coughed and saw him smugly smile. 

“I like that combination.”, he noticed.

Sonia rolled her eyes at him and Charmeleon hit the back of his head. 

“Meleon!”, ordered the pokemon and now Sonia grinned. 

“You two are getting along again?”, she asked hopefully.

“Char-meleon Char...”, Charmeleon placed an arm around Leon's shoulder and made a weird face. His body started glowing and growing and the next thing that happened was the fire alarm turning on. 

Nurse Joy came into the room and saw the freshly evolved Charizard and his surprised trainer. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“It has just evolved, nurse, Joy, I promise.”, explained Leon and looked at his friend. “Sorry, mate, we will celebrate tomorrow.”

He called him back and nurse Joy arched a brow at him. “I will call the fire fighters quickly.”

She left to her office and Leon sighed.

“Second time that we caused the fire fighters to come.”, noticed Sonia. 

“Looks like we got some talent.”, he replied dryly. “Want to join us when we leave tomorrow?”

“That would be great. Honestly I am not sure if Yamper gets me through the whole forest.”, she admitted. “And I would not want to miss that party you guys will have tomorrow. You think, I might be able to catch an Impidimp after you beat it up for me?”

Leon looked at her sternly. “That is despicable.”

Again she flinched. “Sorry, I just... it will be the second time for me in this place and I... “

He smiled and pulled a pokeball out of his pocket. “I was not sure, if you would want one this way. I was worried you would yell at me for falsely thinking that you are weak or something.” Leon reached the item to Sonia. “That is from Charme... Charizard and me for helping us out.”

She took the ball a bit surprised. “Thank you, but I messed stuff up too. Also you tried to help me too and I never... If I ever find another green Applin, it is yours, I promise.”

Leon smiled and nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading.   
>  Well, some parts were less dramatic than in the description.   
> But for what it is worth, I think Leon will sleep like a stone that night, since he had not been sleeping much for the last two nights. Another reason why he was not fully present during the gym match. Why was he still able to win? Well I guess that Charmeleon and he prepared Doublade very good for that match. if these two work together they can be pretty scary ( in a good way).   
> But the other team in Sonia and Leon is not bad either, but different. They do want to see each other at their best and even better, just so tha beating the other would be more satisfying. That is why Sonia had been that harsh in the first place and why she could not stand seing her Leon and Charmeleon in these states, while Leon even tried to make her team stronger.   
> Also I can see Yamper talking Charmeleon an ear off, so it would go home. But the fire type needed some time. 
> 
> Anyhow next time, Raihan returns. See you then. ^^


	11. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon thinks Sonia is amazing and Raihan proofs he is still a little idiot.

“This is so embarassing.”, she moaned.

“Soorry.”, he mumbled. 

“It is the fourth time.”

“I am able to count.”, he defended himself. 

“I will tie a Pidove to you cap.”, Sonia grumbled. 

“I do not wear a cap.”

“So I will buy you one!”, she stated harshly and made Leon so flinch.

“It is not like I would do this on purpose.”, he mumbled defiantly. “I am also sick of everybody teasing me that you are my girlfriend.” She glared at him. “What? It is not that I do not like you, but the whole story of having a girlfriend is way too scary.”

“You are a kid.”, she noticed again.

“This conversation gets boring.”, he noticed in return.

“You are right.”, she sighed.

They were walking again through the forest back to Stow on Side with Hammerlock as their main goal. Sonia would there take the train home, even if that thought caused her a pain in her stomach. They had not been half way through the Glimwood Tangle and she had lost Leon four times already, not to count the times, when she had pulled him back on track. 

_And Circhester and Wyndon are surrounded by snow... He will be frozen like a Gelatini before he arrives there and a geezer... How will I explain that to his mum? Oh! Hi, Winfrey, funny I let your son run into his almost certain death, toodles._

She sighed again and Leon looked worried. 

“Are you okay?”, he asked carefully.

“I do not know. It is not that I do not like you.”, she smirked at him briefly and he rolled his eyes at her. “But I am asking myself if there will be ever a time, when I do not have to look after you.”

Leon looked away. “I am not doing this...”

“on purpose, I know, I know.” She stopped. “But why does it happen?”

“I have no idea. I start walking, look around and suddenly I end up in Alola!”, explained Leon a bit desperate. “It is also awkward for me, you know. I feel like an idiot and sometimes I get really angry, when somebody makes fun of it. Oh ho ho! Look at the little Leon, not even able to walk the straight line between Postwick and Wegdehurst without his mummy.”

“Okay, I admit it makes you look much dumber.” Sonia looked at him, looking away again. 

“And if I try it on my own, well, I get really irritated and I assume my ace wants to dethrone me or something.”

“Now that sounds familiar.”, she noticed and shook her head. “You really have to work on that. I mean, you will be champion for one year, right? Not only that you are barely able to look over a table, but you get lost. That does not sound that impressive.”

“Are you trying to cheer me up or to make me feel worse?”, Leon asked with a sulking tone. “I am really not sure.”

“Uhm... sort of both.”, Sonia admitted. “I want to challenge you to become better. Guess I did not pick the right tools again, hu?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, you did not, you fool.”

“I earned that one.” 

Both looked at each other and snickered. 

Sonia tilted her head and pointed to a pink glowing mushroom. “Can you get there?”

Leon rolled hit eyes and walked towards the glowing object, when a Polteageist appeared and he trailed off. 

“LEON!”, the moaned loudly, while laughing. 

The boy turned around with reddish cheeks. “Well, these are rare and I do not have one. Unfair! That does not count!”

Sonia laughed harder and he walked still grumbling to the mushroom. “Okay I am here. Are you still laughing?”

“Sorry, it was just so you.”, she explained and chuckled still when she had caught up with him. “The blue one over there and do not get distracted by a pokemon.”

“Okay, okay.”, he moaned and marched, there was no other word for it, towards the blue mushroom. This time he made it. He made a grumpy face once he turned around. Again Sonia followed him and so they made it through the forest. 

By the end of it Leon was frustration, tired and irritated. “This is stupid!”

“I think it was fun.”, Sonia mused.

“Yes, you were not the one, who was the joke about.”, he huffed. “It was humiliating.”

“What was so bad?”, she asked carefully.

“Everything!”, it burst from him. “Getting orders, following them strictly and you waiting for me to make a mistake, so you had something to laugh. It was not fun and this journey should be fun!”

“So it is fon for you to get lost, endanger yourself and have everybody worry about you?”, Sonia asked calmly. 

Leon took a deep breath. “No, but... Why is it such a big deal? I get lost nobody else is harmed.”

“Nobody? You think your family would not suffer when you are nowhere to be found? Don't you think I would have to hear constantly, why have you not looked after him, while blaming myself?” She shook her head. “You are such a child, Leon, and yes, now I meant it as an insult.”

Leon lowered his head and they walked to the city. Since he was silently sulking all the time, Sonia looked over to him from time to time. Had she gone too far again? 

_Dam it! I had tried my very best!_

So both looked grumpy when they entered the city and both were slightly mad. 

“Have you two fought again?”, suddenly somebody asked surprised and they turned around. Raihan was standing there with a questioning look on his face and a big paper bag on his arm. “Honestly, you should work on that, I thought you were friends.”

“Raihan!”, Leon said excited. “How come you are not locked up any more.”

“Locked up?”, Sonia asked and the boys fist bumped each other.

“Dad allows me some fresh air each day. Evener prisoners get some, so quit the video games, he says and kicks me out.”, Raihan shrugged. “How was the fight with Opal?”

“Meh!”, Leon made.

“It was great.”, Sonia interfered quickly and out of impulse. He looked at her confused, as did Raihan.

“Oh-kay.... hey? Do you folks want to come over tonight? We can see Quart's and Mist's match.”, Raihan offered excited. “You can work out a plan, Leon.”

Sonia cocked a brow, noticing what was bothering her again. Raihan was distracting all of Leon's attention from her to him and ignored her. From the moment he appeared she felt left out and it bummed her. She got even more irritated when Leon dared to smile at him. 

_Oh! What an ass! I am trying to help him not getting lost all the time and he gets mad. But as soon as his new best friend appears and asks him to slack around, he is into it._

“Sure, we come over. Right, Sonia?”, Leon accepted excited to see the match. He remembered her liking Mist's matches and how they watched some over and over at his place. Sometimes it was like she liked the champion a bit too much, but his mum had laughed at him for uttering such nonsense. 

Sonia lifted her chin. “Hmpf! If you want to, I have no choice, do I?”

Leon frowned a bit. 

“Wow and you are friends with that shrew?”, Raihan asked shaking his head. “Must be a sucker for punishment, mate.”

He replied nothing and just looked angrily at Raihan. Why was he saying such rude stuff? Leon had just behaved not very nice towards her and now she was still kind of doing him a favour. No wonder she was mad with him. 

_I really should explain that to him later. Now I have to make up with her._

“We come over later we visited the centre.”,he declared and almost took Sonia's hand again. It had been okay in the forest, where nobody had seen them. But now? Especially with Raihan around, she would go spare with him if he tried anything like that again. 

So Leon gritted his teeth, but smiled at Sonia. “So? Were is the target?”

“Hmpf? The centre right? Let's go.”, she said sharply and he sighed. Obviously she was not picking it up. 

“Come on, give me a goal.”, he asked.

Sonia turned around watching him wary. “Are you trying to mock me?”

“I am trying to lighten your mood.”, Leon explained honestly.

“I was not trying to make fun of you in the forest!”, she hissed and he raised his hands.

“I get that. Sorry, for assuming otherwise.”, he made clear. “I should have not jumped into your face, even that stuff is nothing I like.”

“Glad to hear that.” Now she smiled a bit and started running. “Race to the crossroad ahead!”

“What? Hey!”, he yelled and started chasing after her. “You cheated!” Leon almost bumped into an old lady, who in return hit him with her bag.

“Outsch!”, he rubbed the back of his head.

“What a rude little brat!”, she nagged and he apologized. 

Sonia was watching him come over with a sheepish smile still rubbing his head.   
“Okay, I admit, I should pay more attention to my surrounding, but you must admit, that this would have made for a funny story, if it would have happened to somebody else.”, he noticed, which made her playfully sneer at him.

“Leon, you got beaten up by an old lady.”, she told him. “It is hilarious.”

“Oh! Crabby.”, he moaned and bumped his shoulder against her. “Come on, we want to see the match today, don't we?”

“Hmpf.”, Sonia made.

“Come on, I know you like Mist.”, Leon reminded her. 

“I do not like like him.”, she stated quickly and he looked at her confused.

“Why did you repeat yourself?”, he asked.

Sonia's cheeks turned pinkish, something that made him even more confused. 

“Weeeell...”, she made and looked to the ground. “He is comely, isn't he?”

Leon crossed his arms behind his head as they walked down the street. 

_Comely, hm?_

“I don't know. I never thought about that.”, he admitted. 

“Well, you are a boy. Would it not be weird if you think of a man as... nice looking?”, her voice was very low and she avoided his gaze. 

Leon himself also started to feel a bit awkward, but mostly curious. “Guess so... but uhmmm...”

“What?”, Sonia asked.

“Nothing!”, he said quickly. 

_I just wonder what makes a man comely._

“You are making fun of me!”, she claimed.

“No, I am not. I think it is weird to think about that and I do not understand you, but I do not make fun of you.”, Leon admitted once again. 

“Oh...” Sonia walked next to him down the street to the centre. “Hey, uhm, could you do me a favour?”

“Sure.”

“Don't tell anybody about it, okay? Especially not that Raihan.”, she rubbed the back of her neck. “I fear I might get teased for seeing him that way.”

Leon watched her ears even turn red and smiled. “Do not worry, I will not tell a soul.”

“Thank you.”

“I want us all to have a great time, teasing somebody for something like that is just stupid.”

Sonia looked at him widely grinning. “You are still a kid, you know that?”

Now he frowned. “Hey, I was just...”

“No, no, I meant it in a good way.”, she explained. 

Leon shook his head and kept on walking. “I clearly do not get it.”

There was an odd feeling sitting on the floor between Sonia and Raihan, who was somehow not keen on him bringing her over with him. He never spent as much as a look towards her and only briefly replied when ever she tried to say something.   
Sonia on her end also was not an easy case. She had become really stiff and snappy, when they had entered the house. Thou she was polite to James, but Raihan? Almost scared she stayed close to Leon. 

Now armed with a bowl of popcorn and a notebook Leon was finally able to enjoy the evening. Qart was a tall, slender young man, who looked with his long black hair almost a bit like a girl, which confused Leon suddenly and made him feel uncomfortable. His skin was weirdly pale and he had rings under his eyes. 

On the other side appeared Mist, who was not as tall as Qart, but a bit broader and just as sick looking as the final gym leader. Behind him was his ace Corviknight and two girls in short dresses. Leon squinted his eyes a bit trying to see, what Sonia saw in him. Mist was not as pretty as Quart ( a weird thought for the boy), but still he looked cool. He could see him easily as a knight back in the old days, fighting a battle. The champion had almost golden coloured hair and over all looked like a knight. 

_I would call it cool, but not comely, but he also showing off._

Finally the two started to battle. Qart's team contained mostly of steel type pokemon like Klingklang, Perserker, Stunfisk, Aegislash and his ace Lucario. 

“Where is his Duraludon?”, asked Sonia puzzled and the boys briefly looked at each other, but did not reply anything. 

“With out that his team is much weaker.”, noticed Leon. “Even with some Rock attacks on Stunfisk, Lucario and Perserker, he is weak to everything stronger as a lighter. One swift fire type...”

“He lost to more battles recently.”, admitted Raihan.

“You know him?”, Sonia asked surprised.

“He is my older brother.”, he admitted. “As for Duraludon. He has a Salazzle and used her fire lash to punish it when they lost.”

“Used? What happened to the poor thing?”, she asked shocked. 

Raihan blushed a bit. “I have it now. I got it from him, even thou he was not agreeing to give it to me.”

“He stole it.”, said James, who brought them some sandwiches. 

“Yes.”, declared the boy proudly and lowered his head grinning, upon his father's stern look. 

“Wow!”, made Sonia. “Never thought you had that in you.”

“Nobody did, not even me.”, admitted Raihan and Leon started o get a bit frustrated. He could not focus with the two of them talking. 

_Klingklang might also cover Lucrio's flying weakness and with Magnet Rise or an ballon that thing might be nasty. So If I use Semistoad and Charizard I might be able to win this._

“Will you show me Duraludon?”, Sonia asked excited. “I have never seen a one before.”

“Maybe.”, he said with a smug tone in his voice. 

She huffed silently and turned back to the TV. 

Mist was pulling one cheap trick after another on Qart, with a team that was made to beat the gym leader. Some people in the crowd were shown and some of them were sneering as the champion. 

Leon clutched a fist and his look had become more stern with each move. By the end of the match he looked furious. Sonia looked worried at her best friend.

“Hey, are you okay?”, she asked.

“Leave him alone. He is just eager to battle, right mate?”, he bumped Leon's shoulder with his fist. “Silly girl can not understand.”

“Don't call me silly.”, Sonia protested. 

Now Raihan huffed and Leon, who had not paid them very much attention left to get some fresh air. Mist's attitude was bothering him. He had never noticed so far, but he was barely fighting fair and it was all to show how much superior he was. 

_It is not that he is a bad fighter, but..._

He ruffled his hair.

_I looked up to him. He was a hero to me and now he is such a ... dick. Somebody betrayed me._

“Leon?”, Sonia asked and found him sitting on the doorsteps in front of the house. “There you are.”

“Just leave him alone. Sometimes a man needs time for himself.”, Raihan moaned. “Tell her budddy.”

“Arceus! You are so annoying with all this man and girl stuff! Can you not leave it be?”, she asked angry. 

“I am just telling the truth. You will run of to follow the next group of girls as soon as one comes around. I see him just being your rebound friend.”, explained Raihan. 

“He is not and I will not.”, growled Sonia defensively. 

“Can you two please stop fighting?”, asked Leon frustrated. 

“Of course.”, mumbled Sonia. 

“If the lady says so.”, Raihan agreed smiling.

“What is that supposed to mean?”, she asked Leon rolled his eyes. 

“That means that the tone of your voice is demanding like the one of a princess ever you entered the house. I can do nothing with him since you are always around.”, Raihan complained. 

That was not untrue, Leon tought.

“Well, I was also invited and you cling to him like is is your mother and you are a little baby!”, gave Sonia back. “Will you die if you do not get his attention?”

Raihan blushed deeply. “You stupid Miltank!”

“You brat!”, she yelled back.

“Hey! Hey! Hey!”, Leon made and tried to step between them.

“Are you guys fighting?”, asked James.

“No.”, the two fighters claimed and the third one wanted to say yes, be he stayed silent. 

“What about a little match?”, Raihan asked with a mean tone in his voice. “The looser leaves.”

Sonia was shocked. Her team was not even near to win a match, but she did not want to loose against that arrogant little prick. So she nodded. 

Leon watched them worried, especially Sonia, when Raihan ran back into the house to get his pokemon. 

“Are you sure about this?”, he asked.

“Yes! I can not stand him.”, she explained.

“He is a bit weird, but over all a nice guy and you made also not a good impression.”, Leon said calmly. “I think you both met each other under the worst possible circumstances.”

“I made a mistake and was not very smart, but he does not need to rub it into me all the time.”, Sonia replied frustrated. “I want to proof that I am worthy to be your friend and not a stupid girl any more.”

He nodded slowly. “But you do not need to do that.”

“Honestly? You are sweet saying that, but if I do not do this, I feel like I will never get over this mess. I need it to do for myself as well.”, she mumbled. “I need a real battle with something at stake.”

Leon inhaled and nodded. “Okay, but what about your team? We had barely the chance to train your Impidimp.”

“Do not worry, I can do this.”, Sonia assured more to herself than to him. She knew her team was far from perfect or in shape. 

_But he can win even with his mind elsewhere. At one point I have to start moving forward, so why not now._

Raihan and his father both came out of the house. 

“I wish me luck, mate.”, Raihan asked Leon, who stood still unhappy next to the battlefield. 

“I have a very bad feeling about this.”, he confessed to James.

“Why?”

“I would want my friends to get along and I doubt this will help.”, he admitted. “Also Sonia's team is... not very put together and she might still struggle with her confidence. I just do not want her to feel small again.”

James patted his shoulder with a smile. “You can not protect her all the time. She might surprise you.”

“Yes...”, he mumbled and bit his lip. 

“Besides, I listened to you guys all evening. I think my son deserves some kicks in his butt.”, the adult admitted. “He became a real brat towards girls recently.”

“Three versus three?”, Raihan suggested smiling and Sonia nodded. “Okay! Let's go! Boldore!”

Sonia smirked: “Flapple! Go!”

When the green pokemon appeared Raihan made a face. “What is that thing?”

“This is my Flapple.”, Sonia declared. “Okay we start off with Leech seed.”

“Yes!”, whispered Leon silently next to James.

“Not a bad choice for a first move.”, the father noticed. 

“Weak!”, Raihan laughed. “Boldore! Rock Slide!”

But even Flapple was hit buy some of Boldore's rocks, it did not look very impressed. 

“Hu?”, the boy made.

“Hehe!”, Sonia snickered. “Flapple is not a flying type even it looks like one. Okay, show it to him. Use dragon breath!”

“What?”, Raihan asked shocked, but the blue and yellow flames did not very much damage to the Boldore on his side. “Still a weak attempt.”

_Sadly I do not have any stronger grass type attacks. At least it is not an Applin any more._

Sonia grit her teeth. 

_Yamper, Milcery or Impidimp will not help me either and Gossifleur I sent to my gran. Dam it! I could really use a good grass type. But at least I have leech seed._

“Headbutt!”, Raihan commanded.

“Protect!”, ordered Sonia and Flapple dodged the attack. She smirked and used dragon breath and protect to let the leech seed slowly defeat the rock type.

“Ha! “, James made as Leon exhaled the breath he had been holding. “See? She is able to hold herself on her own.”

“Still.”, Leon mumbled worried. If Raihan has now a Vibrava, Sonia is in trouble. She has no water type or ice type and Yamper can not do much. 

Raihan's next pokemon was a Silicobra, so Leon still sat on the fence to worry about the fights outcome and it was a long with. Sonia's stall tactic as jarring to him. 

“But have any other move?”, asked Raihan unnerved.

_Noting remotely effective._

But the Silicobra also went down soon. Thanks to the leech seeds Flapple was still in a good point health wise, but it was running low in attacks. 

Raihan smirked, also he did not seem to be very happy. “Well, I wanted to go easy on you, but you leave me no choice. Duraludon, I choose you!”

“What?”, the three asked in shock. 

“Raihan! I told you not to use that one!”, his father yelled as the silver dragon appeared.

“Do not worry, dad.”, he assured him. “I can deal with him. Duraludon! Use dragon claw!”

And well... it did use dragon claw, but unfortunately on the neighbours car. 

“What?”, Raihan asked shocked. “Duraludon! Listen!”

“Arceus!”, James hissed. “I almost thought so. Duraludon is not very fond towards humans and Raihan has not enough of its trust or experience. Could you?” He looked at Leon. 

“Guess I have no choice.”, the boy mumbled. “Charizard! Dragon breath, quick!”

Blue and yellow flames burst out of Charizards mouth. “Push it to the square with dragon breath. Sonia, Raihan, move out of the way!”

“I can help!”, offered Sonia.

“Thanks but Flapple is tired.”, he explained and followed the two behemoths down the street.   
James glared at his son, who looked sheepish after his friend. “Get moving, boy! Get that dam dragon back into its ball! Sonia, use this!”

He threw an Ether to her. “Also there is a fountain at the square ahead and nuzzle should make it easier for Leon.”

“He does not...”

“Than proof to him that he is wrong! Arceus be dammed! There are lifes on the line here!”, the adult explained and ran into the house.

“I never expected this.”, Raihan mumbled.

“Because .. argh, no, I need to help Leon.”, she hissed, healed Flapple and called for Yamper. “Flapple, you help Charizard with your dragon breath, but beware its tail. Yamper, try to nuzzle Duraludon, so it gets slower and if you can use the water in the fountain to give your spark a boost. Understood?”

“Flapple!”

“Yamp! Yamp!”

The two pokemon ran ahead, as Sonia grabbed Raihan's arm. “Move your ass!”

“Hee!”, he complained. 

Leon had reach the square. It had not been far, but to make sure he would not stray off the path he had focused on Charizard's tail flame. 

_This is not the time to get lost._

On the square the few people ran away screaming and for some reason people from farer away came running. 

“Charizard, try to keep in the middle.”, Leon ordered and his brain went wild. 

Even without any direct advantage, Charizard alone will not be able to take many hits. Duraludon is a former member of the last gym leader's team. 

Suddenly another dragon breath appeared and confused the steel type long enough, so the fire type could gain some distance. Another tiny, green dragon appeared.

“Flapple?”, he asked shocked.

“Flapp! Flapp!”, the grass dragon replied fiercely.

Also suddenly Yamper appeared and nuzzled the Duraldon, who began moving slower. Leon opened his eyes in surprise. 

“Flapple! Leech seed!”, Sonia ordered from behind him and Flapple shot three seeds at the other dragon. 

Leon looked a bit confused.

“I know it does not cause a lot of damage, but any bit counts.”, admitted Sonia a bit defensively, before lifting her chin.

“No, you are right.”, he admitted. “Great plan.”

Together the three pokemon stalled the wild Duraludon until Raihan was able to catch it back into is ball. By the end of the fight Officer Jenny, nurse Joy and James had appeared. 

Raihan was in very big trouble, while nurse Joy healed the other three pokemon. Sonia let herself drop on a bench. 

“Are you okay?”, Leon asked.

“Yes, but that was dangerous.”, she just now seemed to realize.

“I told you to stay out of it.”, he reminded her and smiled at her angry face. “But I must admit it, you are pretty cool. Why have you doubted yourself again? You are an amazing trainer.”

Sonia blushed a bit. “Uhm... James gave me the idea with nuzzle and also the Ether. But leech seed was my idea.”

“I had completely forgotten about status conditions!”, Leon admitted. “Honestly, you might take longer to a victory, but your style is mean and unapologetic.”

“Thank you.” She smiled at him. “You were not bad either.”

“Hu?”, he made. 

“Running into the danger like a real hero! And you did not even get lost!”, she noticed.

The boy chuckled. “Guess your training worked.”

“Haha!”, Sonia made and poked his cheek. “So? Will you play along next time?”

“I will, with out complaining even.”, Leon promised. 

“What an honour.”

“You two seem to be okay.”, noticed nurse Joy relieved. “Your pokemon are also back to health. Thank you for saving out town.” She bowed her head. 

“That was nothing.”, mumbled Leon and looked away.

Sonia chuckled and elbowed him, which made him even more flustered. 

Officer Jenny also thanked them and the mayor of Stow on Side offered both a wishing star wristband as a gift. 

“Woah!”, Leon made.

“I heard you could use one, young man.”, the old man mentioned. “I have seen your match against Opal, nice work. I hope you will make yourself a name and your girlfriend proud.”

“She is not my girlfriend!”

“I am not his girlfriend!”

Both shouted unison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for reading. 
> 
> I had not a concept for this chapter other than making both the Leon and Sonia a bit jealous. Just to spice stuff up a bit. Also it gave Sonia a bit more motivation to get back into fights and Leon to take a closer look on the champion. 
> 
> In Mist (short for mistle toe a parasitic plant) he can see what he can like about being a champion and what not. But we will et to that later.   
> Sonia wants to be seen as an equal to Leon, who is more successful. The compliment at the end meant much to her and I guess, she now has a neck for winning by stalling opponents out and using stus conditions. 
> 
> Raihan mostly wants to proof to Leon, that he is a cool boy and completly overdid it. You can most likely assume why ;)
> 
> Also Leon needed his wishing star and saving the a town seemed to be a good way of getting one as a gift. 
> 
> Any way, I hope you had fun. See you next time.


	12. Reasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Small warning: This chapter is a bit all over the place. The preparation and the aftermath of the battle Leon vs Qart.

He was seven badges in and trained like a mad man. Now night had fallen over Galar and Sonia was laying like a Snorlax in her tent. Yamper was next to her, also on his back with his tongue sticking out and his eyes closed. Sometimes he would bark a bit and move his paws as if he was chasing a Nickit or a Scopple. 

_Poor thing is even more tired than me._

Sonia looked towards the tent's ceiling. She and her team had somehow become Leon's first choice of training buddies. So if the aspiring trainer had not enough opponents on a day, her team had also to serve him. It was not that they had not become better or that he was forcing her, but at times it was a bit annoying to always loose. 

_And now he is also using berries. Finally I was able to take one or two of his mon down and he uses Cheri Berry on Charizard._

Sonia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.   
How can I get around this? Flapple beats Semistoad, if I am lucky Morgem beats Doublade. Yamper was a threat after he slowed Charizard down. To take that one down I either need a very swift or bulky pokemon. Maybe...

She sat up quickly and slumped back down, since her head had become dizzy from it. So after a few minutes she tried it again. She planned to sneak into Leon's tent to briefly steel one of his notebooks. Surely he had made notes about some pokemon, which were able to use stealth rock. 

_Switching the new one in in the beginning, setting up stealth rock and use another one, easy._

Sonia smirked, but once she stuck her head out, the smile vanished.   
Leon was still sitting next to the camp fire, doing some of his homework. Even Charizard had a beginners text book in his claws, reading with a very tense look on his face. Only Arceus knew why it wanted to learn how to read.

“You should sleep.”, she stated. Leon flinched, being pulled out of his thoughts. “Are you still fighting these equations?”

“No, I am done with percentages.”, he shrugged. “But I guess I will not be in the mood to sit outside and learn, once we are on the way to Wyndon. Route 10 is made of ice and snow.”

“Wait!”, Sonia asked. “So you have started with geometry?”

“Yes?”, he mumbled unsure. “That is much easier.”

She stared at him.   
How? Since when had he become smarter then her?   
Nervous and sort of angry she sat down. 

_That is not fair!_

“Why are you mad?”, he asked confused.

“I am not.”, she lied and pouted.

“You are, I know your face, when you are mad.”, Leon declared.

Sonia looked at him. “I am just...”

“Yes?”

“Since when are you interested in school stuff?”, she blurted out. “You hated being in the classroom! You hated homework! You are the better trainer! Let me be the smart one!” Right after her outburst, she saw his shocked face becoming ashamed and she felt imminently guilty. “S... sorry, I did not mean to yell at you...”

“Hmhm...”, he made and scrubbed his cheek. “I am sorry if you feel bad because of me.”

“Not that is not... the case... it is just...”, Sonia stammered. “I feel stupid and not good enough.”

“You are more than good enough.”, Leon assured her. “But, urm... how do I say it? Soon I will be facing Mist and be champion. Hop will see me being a great trainer, just we thought of Mist, right?”

“Mist is cool.”, admitted Sonia.

“Yeah... but I heard many adults call him stupid and oblivious or a bad example.” He shrugged. “Sonia, I can not afford to be called that too. If I want to be a role model for my little brother, I must be also smart. Who else is there for him to look up to? Our dad?”

“So you are doing all this for Hop?”, she asked and looked at his books laying around. “He might not even remember this.”

“So I will stay a champion until he can remember it.”, he stated as if it was that simple. “Besides I am able to focus easier out here.”

“I heard somebody say, you must want to be a champion for your own sake not for somebody else's.”, she mused. 

“I want to be a champion for myself, but I want to be a good champion for my little brother.”, Leon explained carefully. “If that makes any sense.”

“It does.”, Sonia admitted just as slow. 

He briefly smiled and turned to his book again. 

_I envy you._

Sonia must have been looking for a while at him, Leon started to become nervous and his ears turned pink as well as his cheeks.

“Stop starring at me!”, he demanded flustered. “What do you want?”

She giggled upon his cute expression, before she remembered what she originally wanted. “Can I have your notebook?”

“Geography? History? Or Galarian?”, he asked while turning to his bag.

“Types and attacks?”, Sonia asked carefully and Leon stopped moving. He turned to her with a wide grin. 

“Sure!” His books were quicker thrown aside than Sonia could have imaged. “Can I help you?”

“Actually... I wanted to look for a pokemon able to take Charizard down.”

Until now Charizard had ignored them, focused on reading the first words like mum and dad. Now it looked up curiously and growled playfully. He came even closer, to participate in the debate.

“You two are okay with that? I mean...”, she started. 

“I think it is great, that you try actually to win.”, stated Leon exicted and Charizard nodded. “It really means, you want this and recovered! Also the more of a threat to become, the more reason we have to work even harder and become much better! This game was no fun with you being so mopy.”

_Something must be wrong with him... He uhm They are nuts! The whole team too._

Sonia smiled. “I thought of a rock type able to set up stealth rocks.”

Charizard looked a bit nervous, while Leon's smile got even wider. 

“Every rock type gets taken down by Seismitoad or Doublade. I would recommend a strong second type.”, he explained thoughtfully. 

“Not Coalossal.”, mused Sonia. “Four times ground and water, even with steam engine a rather risky business.” 

“Gigalith and Stonjourner are pure rock, Tyranitar is a dark type like Morgrem. Drednaw?”

Sonia made a face. “I know Drednaw is a solid choice, but I can not stand Chewtle. That mono brow is freaking me out!”

“Not to mentions one bit you once.”, remembered Leon and now Sonia felt her cheeks become warm. 

“Yeah... that too...”

“Castleith or Pottrott?”, he suggested and not Charizard growled.

“SSSSSSSSSSZARD.”

“Right, due to the combination, she would gain nothing really from it. Lunatone?”

“I need some physical power.”, she explained.

“Rizard? Chaaaaaaaar.”

Sonia smirked at him. “Yes, I was keeping an eye on you.”

“Charizard.”, the dragon made impressed. 

“You should feel flattered.”, commented Leon and Charizard hit his face under his tail, mimicking a blushing maiden. 

“Chari, chari.”, he stated with a higher voice, which made the children laugh.

“Okay, you are funny.”, noticed his trainer and scrubbed his back. Charizard let himself slump forward, so the boy could reach more of him. He enjoyed the special treatment visibly.

“What about Rhyhorn? Does it learn stealth rock?”, asked Sonia.

“Rhyhorn?”, Leon asked. “Not so sure, but I could image if you had the TP it could learn it. But it takes long to evolve and has some weaknesses.”

“I can counter steel with ground and water with Flapple. Ice is less common, despite ice fang, which is also physical.”, she explained while reading his notes. “Also it gives poison a hard time and is immune to electric. As long as it is not evolved, I could give him an Evolite to boost its defence.” 

“Wow!”, Leon made. “You really want me to have a hard time.”

“I am just returning the favour. Do you think it could work?”

“Yes, it could. Now I want to battle!”, he declared.

“I do not have a Rhyhorn yet.”

“Okay tomorrow?”

“Then it would not be trained...”

“Mrgh!”, he huffed, looked at Charizard. “Time to go to bed, mate. I can not wait for tomorrow.”

Leon was even earlier up than Sonia. He packed his tent and called his team for breakfast, before reheating the stew from the last evening for their meal. Lately he had trouble falling to sleep with ease, so he used to time to study a bit more. He was nervous about the next steps of his journey. Soon he would face Qart and then Mist. 

Both opponents he wanted to wipe the floor with. They made him furious! Just seeing them was recently enough to ruin his whole day and Mist was everywhere. When he had first noticed that he had trouble falling asleep, Leon had done some research on Mist, since Sonia's comely had become stick in his brain. 

At first he had just found some pictures of him modelling. Leon had made fun of the awkward poses, by mimicking them, but it had already started in mists wiki entry. There were tons of news about him being arrested, kicked out of clubs and bars, because of his riots. Often Qart had accompanied him. At one instance Qart had been found with something called overdose and now after having read the article explaining what that was, Leon understood also what Raihan had meant with bad medicine. Mist had also been tested positive on something that was called rare candy. 

_Now I get, why mum had sent us out of the room, when Mist had been in the news._

He felt betrayed. The idol he had admired had been nothing but a fraught and he was unable to tell anybody. His mum would not understand and Sonia would be disappointed.

_I will not make anybody worry. I am the man, I will make sure they will have a great time._

“Morning, you are up earlier than a Rookidee.”, noticed Sonia yawning.

Leon smiled. “I am maybe a little excited.”

She shook her head. “And here it is my team getting some support to defeat yours.”

His impatience grew and he started cleaning the camp and packing her tent, while she was still eating.   
Sonia watched him worried and followed him silently, while he followed Charizard to the Dusty Bowl. But even with the fire in front of and Sonia behind him, he was a mess, constantly trailing off and so far away with his mind, she expected to find it somewhere in Kanto. 

_Something is clearly not right._

“Leon?”, she asked and he did not react. “Leon. LEON!”

“Uhm? What?”, he asked surprised. “I am sorry!”

Sonia sighed. “You did nothing wrong.”

“Oh.”

“It is just... are you okay?”

He smiled widely, but it was off. “Yeah, off course.”

“Liar.”, she called him and he again he got surprised. “Something is bothering you. Do you really want to help me or am I a burden?”

“No! No, no you are not! Arceus! Why do you think that?”, he asked shocked. 

“Then why are you so... tense all the time?”, Sonia asked confused. “Something is bothering you. Is it the match against Qart?”

Leon exhaled. “Yes and no.”

“I am convinced you can beat him. His team is weak and you trained hard.”, she cheered him on and the boy actually smiled. 

“That is not, was bothers me. It is Qart himself.”, he explained. “I do not know him, but after what I heard from Raihan about him and what I read online... I am shocked that he is still allowed to be a gym leader.”

“Because he mistreated his Duraludon?”

“And his brother and he has also some more issues.” Leon's face turned into a grimace. “I think he is weak and I do not... I hate him for that. You know he is stupid and causes so many people trouble and pain and they allow him to do so. But Mist is even worse! I do so badly want to beat them, I can not think about anything else. They are bad people and I want them gone for good.”

Sonia stared at him. Leon had his fists clutched and his gaze lowered. He was shaking all over his body. 

“Maybe not all their issues are their fault. It is not right to judge somebody when you do not really know them.”, she gave him to think.

“I know. So what if I beat them and they did not deserve it to be crushed? Then I would be the vermin I think they are.” He rubbed his face. 

“Then do not crush them. Just beat them, fair and square. Try to be better?” Sonia shrugged. “I do not even completely understand where your problem is.”

“They just make me furious and I know it is stupid.”, Leon explained. “Being better?”

“Yes, I mean if you are disappointed by Qart because of how he treats Raihan or his pokemon, just do not mention it during the fight. Standing up for Raihan is firstly Raihan's job or his dad's. Ou can join them after they made a move. Do not hurt you pokemon as he does or Hop for that matter.” Now Leon flinched. “Ah! That is the Gastly's core. You are worried you can harm Hop!”

He rubbed his neck and nodded. “I read about the trouble it can cause for somebody to become successful, especially very young. I want to be a guideline for him, but what if I fail. Or I try my best and I loose my way or a crack? Being a champion seems to be more than just training an battling.”

“Leon, you remember that your mum is mainly responsible to ensure Hop's well being?”, Sonia asked carefully. “You are just his brother. You do not have to raise him.”

He smiled and nodded.

_She does not get it._

A few days later was Leon's match against Qart and his mirror, mirror team. His gym challenge was a combination of a puzzle an a mirror maze. Soon Leon had been completely lost with in the invisible walls and how he had managed to find the exit was a riddle to him. Tensely he walked down the tunnel into the arena. 

Qart was waiting, he smiled arrogantly at the boy. “Finally, I thought you would never make it.”

“I am here! Let's fight.”, Leon declared. 

Qart smiled. “You are kind of cute, you know?” Leon felt his cheeks become warm and the leader chuckled.

“That is not funny!”, the boy declared. “A man does not say something like that to another.”

“Oho! So you are a man?”

“Yes, of course!”, even thou he declared it loudly Leon felt like a bratty kid. 

“Well, I like fighting strong man, especially when they are also cute. “, Qart winked and the boy felt weirdly grossed out. “Fine, we will fight. I Karat, the fairest of them all, will accept your challenge.”

The fight was quickly over. Even thou Qart tried to distract him by calling him cute, sweet and his little knight, Leon just wanted to end this. There was no strategy involved in this battle, no finesse. He commanded Charizard or Seismitoad to spam their most effective attacks. 

Once the fairest of them all was defeated, Qart showed his uglier side. He did not congratulate Leon to his victory, but simply tossed the badge over to him, before storming off like a prima-donna. 

The crowd was cheering for him.

“Congratulation, Leon!”, a familiar voice said and chairman Rose stepped on the field. “You came far.”

“Chairman Rose!”, the boy grinned. 

“You will now be allowed to participate in the champions tournament in Wyndon.” He ruffled the boys hair. “Nervous?”

“I can not wait for it!”, Leon declared.

“I thought so. Come now, there are some people, who want to talk with you.”

Sonia waited ages for Leon to finally arrive in front of the gym. She was waiting behind the crowd of grade school boys, who are cheering for her friend. 

_Looks like Leon is a hero already._

But it was also kind of odd and when he finally arrived the boys slowed him down even more. They asks to a photo together or if he would sign something for them.

Leon raised his hands: “I do not have a sign yet.”

“Really?”, one of the boys asked. 

“No, I never needed one.” The challenger was confused “I do not even know if I am allowed to sign something. Sonia!”

So he had seen her. Sonia walked over. “Yes?”

“Do you know if we are allowed to sign something or where I do get a signature from?”, he asked. 

“That is a weird question...”, she thought out loud. 

“My, my.”, somebody chuckle behind him. It was chairman Rose again. “Of course you can sign something for them as long as it is not a contract. Use your name in a artistic way.”

“Ah!”, he made and got the marker from the boy. 

Sonia rolled her eyes. 

_And here I thought for a moment he would be really wise and mature. All this talk at the Wild Area, but now he just proofs that he is nothing but a stupid kid, hopeless._

That thoughtful Leon, even thou he got even more often lost, was kind of interesting to her, almost mysterious. And now? Nothing was left. Leon had his tongue stuck out, trying to come up with a cool signature. 

_Disappointing._

Sonia huffed and turned away. 

“Hello, Sonia.”, said chairman Rose friendly. 

“Hello, Chairman.”

“Where you also watching his fight?”, he asked. 

“Yes, we travel together since Ballonlea.”, Sonia explained.

“So we will see you fight soon too?”

She grimaced. “No, I fear not. I was stupid and I can not make up for the lost time. I try my best next year. For now I make sure Leon arrives at time in Wnydon.”

“Does he still get lost?”, Rose asked amused.

“I think it has gotten worse.”, stated Sonia and the chairman laughed loudly. 

“I invited Leon for dinner tonight.”

“Oh.”, she made. Originally they had planned to celebrate together, but no way he could decline that offer. 

“He said that you two had already some plans and he could not turn you down. So? Do you want to join us?”, he offered. 

“Would that be okay?”, Sonia asked. 

“Of course, I mean. That would be the least I could do, if you bring him to the restaurant on time.”, Rose said with a wink. 

She chuckled. “Okay, when and where?”

“The new unovain steakhouse over the train station.”

The girl made a face. “The very new, very expansive and very fancy one?”

“Oh, it is not that fancy.”

No, but I bet they do not have a kid's menu. Leon and I will stick out like a sore thumb. 

Finally Leon came over with a big grin. 

“Leon, Sonia will join us tonight.”, declared Rose happily. 

“Oh! Great!” Last thing he wanted was eating at a place where he would not dare to breath. He looked at Sonia. 

_WHY????_

“Well, I should leave, so you can prepare for dinner.”, the adult explained, before he got dragged off by Oleanna.

“Be on time, wear appropriate cloths and take a shower.”, the secretary ordered. 

“Yes, mam!”, Leon saluted.

“And stop this childish behaviour.”, she added, before they left. 

Leon slumped down. “You know, I also declined the offer because I really have no desire to eat at a place like this?”

“I agreed before he told me the place.”, Sonia explained and checked her wallet. “Dam it...”

“You can drop me at the next centre, if you buy me also some cloths.”, he offered a bit grumpy. 

“I do not have the money.”

“You can pay it back.”

“Thank you... but you should join me.”, she said thoughtfully. 

“Why?”, Leon whined.

“Do you know what size you were?”

“Fitting?”, he asked hopefully and Sonia hit him. “Outsch! Hey! I won, I should party, but know I have to eat food I can not pronounciate and I have go and buy cloths. Not fair!”

Grumpy he followed her into the store, after he had washed the fight off him. He growled and slumped onto a chair. Some of the women working there were already looking.

“Leon!”, Sonia hissed. 

“Not fair.”

_How could I ever think he was behaving cool?_

“I made a mistake, but you are making it worse. My guess is that you have join such meetings, when you are champion.”, she explained and he groaned more.

“So move and get some adult looking cloths.”, she ordered. 

_This is the worst victory I ever had._

He walked over to the young male section. 

_I guess boys does not sound spiffy enough._

Leon saw the usual very brightly coloured shirts and pants with big patterns on it. 

_Very cool, but for sure nothing I should wear now. What do important adults wear?_

He looked around. 

“Can I help you?”, a elderly woman asked friendly after a while of him walking confused around the shelves. 

“I have a business meeting at a fancy restaurant.”, Leon explained. “I am supposed to look like business too.”

“I see, hm... May I suggest you something?”, she pointed at a shelve with darker cloths. His mum was wary of dark cloths. Only punks wear such kind of clothing, she would always say. But the lady reached him a shirt with buttons, a pair of trousers, a belt and a pair of shoes all in black. “Try these on, simply, elegant and not too expensive.”

She winked and Leon smirked. 

He changed into his new cloths and stared at the person in the mirror. Somehow that was not the image he was knowing. In these new cloths he seemed to be taller and less chubby, not that he was, but the stuff suit him better. 

_Maybe I should learn to iron my shirts? Dam this looks good._

He stepped outside with a confident smirked and turned around for the lady. “It is awesome!”

“I am glad you like it.”

He paid for his items and waited for Sonia, reading his notes on Mist. 

At first she did not notice him, it took her a second glance to recognize Leon. Without the bright reds and blues he wore usually, he looked older and it fit more the weird side of him. It also did not help that he was still a bit pouting and reading his textbook again. 

_What a brat!_

She was taking ages!  
Leon at one point had even started to not only read but do his homework, while Sonia still was running up and down refusing any help.

“If you do not get ready soon, I will leave without you!”, he declared. “What is taking you so long?”

Sonia sighed and pulled on her hair. “I do not look like me.”

“Yes, we have been there.”, Leon noticed. 

“I know. I know. But right now I hate what I see in the mirror!”, she moaned and rubbed her face. “I see failure and somebody to be ashamed of.”

He made a face. “Come on, it is not that bad.”

“It is.”, she sniffled. “I have been such a dumb Miltank and gullible like a Mareep.”

“Uhm.. hard to deny.”, he mumbled and she glared at him. “Uhm, sorry, I just.”

“No, it is okay.”, Sonia sighed again. “Maybe I will just drop you there and pretend I am sick or something.”

“No! You will not. It is your fault I will be there, so you will go down with me.”, Leon stated and looked extra creepy, while lowering his voice. He reached his goal and made her smile, if just for a moment. 

“You are such an idiot.”, she said and bumped lightly into him. 

“That makes two when we include you. Come on.”, he asked and put his paperwork back in his bag.

“Where are we going?”, Sonia asked as they left the shop.

“To the stylist. You hair looks awful, no wonder you find nothing.”, he offered. 

By the end of the day Sonia looked completely different than Leon would have ever imaged. He would have thought she would just recolour her hair, but no. Of course not. Sonia never seized to surprised him. 

“Cut the mouse blonde trash off!”, she had ordered confidently and now her copper coloured hair was shorter than his. After that she had found a dress in no time, one that made her look somewhere between a school girl from home and a punk from Spikemuthe. 

Oleanna and Rose were stunned when they saw her. 

“Sonia! You look... different!”, the chairman noticed. “You... uhm.. ah...”

“A break up?”, Oleanna asked causally.

“Sort of.”, admitted Sonia grinning.

“Looks good.”

Rose was confused. “Well, I am glad you two made it. There is somebody I want you to introduce you to.” He looked at Leon. “I think it is better for you to meet each other before you might meet in the arena.”

“Mist.”, concluded the boy and took a deep breath. 

“Yes, he had a tendency to... go to extremes and I do not want to be shocked.”, the chairman explained. “He should be here soon. Why don't we go to our table?”

When Mist arrived with his girlfriends, everybody noticed. He yelled through the whole room to find them. Oleanna got him and glared at him.

“Can't you not be a little less disruptive?”, she hissed.

“Soooooooooorry.”, he replied with a slur and a wide smile. Leon clutched his fist under the table. The secretary sniffed briefly. “What?”

“Are you drunk again?”, she asked

“Are you my mother?”, he asked back and pushed her aside. “Yo, boss! What's up?”

“Mist, ladies, how are you?”, Rose asked friendly and ordered some water, while Mist ordered champagne. 

“Training hard, what else. Why am I here?”, the champion asked bored. 

“I wanted to introduce to to Leon here.”

“You, boss, you know I hate meeting sick brats.”, he moaned. 

“He is one of the three challengers who made it to the finals already.”, explained Rose patiently. 

Mist listened up and looked at the boy on the other side of the table. “That twick? How old are you?”

“Ten.”, answered Leon grimly. 

“Ten and you want to beat me?”, Mist laughed. “Yeah, nice joke. Boss, you should really kick those loosers out. Kabu and Qart are useless. I know some dudes, who are really good fighters, if you would give them a chance.”

“Kabu made some progress and Qart had family problems this season.”, said Oleanna. “And I doubt your friends would gain us anything other than trouble.”

Mist laughed. “So that is why you want the next cash Miltank to be a minor? You can control him much easier, if he does not go along, sent him to his room for a few hours. You want to get rid of me, uncle.”

Rose closed his eyes and opened them slowly again. “No, I do not want to get rid of you, Mist. I wanted Leon to meet you in advance, so he will not be shocked by your behaviour on the battlefield, if you two fight. He is a minor, as you correctly noticed.”

“So, this is just a peaceful gathering?”, asked Mist mockingly.

“No.”, replied Leon fiercely. “Because I want to get rid of you.”

“Leon!”, Sonia whispered. 

“There is nothing about you that makes you deserve the title of champion. You are a bully when it comes to fighting your battles and you are scum outside of the arena. A champion should be a role model, a hero for the younger children.”, Leon explained grimly. “He should make sure everybody lives in peace and enjoys their life. You are smoke and mirrors and only cause worries.”

The champion scoffed at the boy. “And you think you would do it better?”

“Yes! I will make it better.”, the challenger declared. 

Mist laughed loudly and looked at his uncle. “That kid is funny. Okay, listen, shorty, this is nothing you want to be part of. Go home and play with your marbles. Spare yourself the embarrassment of talking so big and loosing in the end against me.”

“Forget it.”, Leon hissed. “I came to beat you.”

“You are making me angry, kid.”, Mist warned him, but the boy did not back down.

Sonia looked worried at him. Mist was taller, older, more experienced and had so many well trained pokemon. Leon was talented, but she was not sure if he could really win this fight. 

“Leon.”, she whispered and took his hand under the table. “Careful.”

“Listen to your girlfriend, Leon.”, advised Mist him and Leon's face only got grimmer. “She seems to be the smarter one of you two.”

“She is.”, the boy agreed and squeezed her hand lightly. “Still, I will beat you.”

“Arceus, you are delusional.”, Mist sighed and rose to his feet, just when the waitress came with their drinks. He got his bottle of champagne and left. No good bye, no snarky comment, nothing. 

The waitress looked a bit confused, but chairman Rose gave her a sign to bring them the beverages and when she left they all felt a silent for a moment or two. 

“Leon?”, Rose asked surprisingly serious. “Mist, was not completely wrong in warning you. Being the champion, even at your age, is not a child's play. It is hard work. Are you sure you want this?”

Leon looked at him and nodded. “I think I have a very good reason, why I must do this.”

“Good, I have a favour to ask.”, said Rose and looked at him exhausted and defeated. “Please, beat Mist and save my nephew.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter. I had some trouble with it, since I had no idea where to go with it. 
> 
> Mainly I wanted Leon to meet Mist and for him to deliver a declaration of war. But also on the other side is Mist's warning towards Leon genuine. Think of Mist as one of Hollwoods child actors, who crash down somewhere along their carrer and leon is even younger. Here is something leon does not get, yet. 
> 
> Sonia works on her team and how to deal with a break of from friends. Right now I thik her team would be at one point nasty to fight against with statuscondition and all these round based ship damage or entry hazards Also the calmer and more focused Leon causes something like a temporarily proto crush.
> 
> Okay I hope you liked it despite the more chaotic structure and see you next time. ^^


	13. On my own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The preparations for the finals have begun and suddenly Leon finds himself in a very new position.

Sonia stared shocked at the list of the participants of the quarter finals and her legs grown weak.  
Slowly she stumbles into Leon's room, where she hides, while he is down in the lobby to call his mother.   
Her heart was racing in fear.

Audrey had made it to the finals again. She would be standing on the green and fighting Leon. At any moment she could start mocking her and he whole region would hear what kind of a looser she was. Selfishly she wished he had never made it this far. 

Leon is sad, disappointed and yet it is okay. His mother would not be able to come and see him fight live. Hop got tochic pox and needed her. 

He was old enough to understand. Hop was sick, little and came first, but still... It had only helped a little, that she had told him, how proud she was.  
Her smile had almost looked, which was weird, when she said: “My, my, this journey worked wonder on you, Leon. I must say, I am proud of the young man I see you have become. You will win your matches tomorrow, I will record them, so Hop can watch them when he is healthy again. Thank you for understanding.”

“Sounds like a great idea, mum.”, he had replied and smiled widely. 

But now he felt more ashamed. It was not completely okay with him. He wanted her and Hop here.

“But what can I do? Create a cure to torchic pox over night?”, he asked himself in the mirror of the elevator. “So man up, buddy.”

He took a deep breath and when he released it, his shoulders still crouched. 

_I am just a brat._

Tonight would a party for the participants of the quarter finals and their entourage and he really had no interest in going there. He would rather play some cards with Charizard, but Rose had already paid for this and the news would there be too. 

If I am going to be the champion I should get used to cameras.

He buried his hands in his pockets and looked over to Sonia's room next to his. She had been excited to go out, she liked this kind of stuff. They had again spent a whole afternoon in a clothing store, where she had bought a new dress and he had added some heart shaped hair clips, which he thought would suit her. Leon himself owed now his very first tie and a nice wrist watch. He wanted to go and let his hair be cut, but Sonia had stopped him. 

“Longer suits you.”, she had said and suddenly her cheeks had gone pink, which had confused him terribly. 

Even now it made him ruffle his hair. 

“Women, nothing but trouble.”, he mumbled.

“Look, who the Meowth has dragged in.”, a girl said in a mocking tone. 

Leon turned around already annoyed. “Audrey.”

The girl came towards him and he had to look up to her. In the back ground her mindless minions were chuckling. Leon frowned. 

“My, my, I never expected you to get so far.”, she said amused. “Guess what you lack in experience or talent, you make up with luck.” He replied nothing, just stared at her. Audrey smirked. “Speaking of talentless brats, have you heard of Sonia? I have not seen her since Ballonlea or is she and her weak team stuck there?”

“Sonia is fine.”, he replied sharply. “As is her team.”

“You can call it fine, but we both now she will never be able to win with such a selection.”, Audrey pointed out.

“Is that how you came this far? Pretending to help other trainers, but instead you make them become weaker?”, Leon asked calmly and she looked surprised at him. “I had that idea all the way back at Stow on Side. You must have a miserable confidence if you think you must use such tricks.”

The older girl scoffed at him. “You are naive thinking she has potential.”

“If you would know me, you would know I hardly ever think.”, he stated with a smirk. 

“And here I wanted to ask you, if we should go together to the dinner. The girls are fighting, who will be accompanying me and poor Sonia will probably not like it.”, she sighed. 

“If she does not want to, I will go alone.”, Leon said simply. “Are you done now? I am getting really annoyed.”

He did not wait for an answer and pushed himself past her, so he could reach his room. With the door closing behind him, Leon moaned: “What a... urhg!”

Leon threw himself on the bed and found Sonia sitting on the floor behind it, sniffling and cuddling Yamper. Alarmed he sat up. “Sonia! What happened?”

“Audrey.”, she sobbed.

His face softened and his shoulders sank. Slowly he sat down next to her. “Yeah, met her too, that false Sandaconda.”

“She is here?”, his rival asked and squeezed her puppy even tighter.

“Yamp!”, he tiny dog howled.

“Easy.”, Leon asked and freed the electric type. “Yes, I just met her and she is a spiteful shrew.”  
“Were you talking about me?”, she asked scared.

“Uhm... yes, but I swear I defended you without being sappy... at least I intended that.”, he promised. 

She ruffled her short hair and looked away. “Would you mind if I stay here tonight?”

“No.”, he replied softly. “I will also not stay that long. Most pals will be teenagers and they can be odd. Also I doubt there will be any games, most boring party ever. We can watch some movies later. I steal some snacks from the party if I can.”

“Urm.”, Sonia made and curled herself even more to a ball.

“What?”

“I was not done asking you favours.”, she whispered. “Since your family will be there as your support, would you mind if I stay here and ...”

“Hide yourself?”, Leon ended her request. No way he could tell her. “If you promise me to train hard and actually crush Audrey next year in the quarter finals, I have nothing to complain about.”

The girl flinched. “I struggled against flying type gym, while already having an advantage. I doubt I can keep this promise.”

He sat down next to her. “You are a good trainer, Soni, we both know that. Do not listen to her.”

“Then why do I struggle?”, Sonia asked patty.

“I have no idea.”, admitted Leon. “I do not think you have any reason to do so. Honestly Julien's gym is designed to beat electric types, because it is the most easy option to beat him. Most people do not think of rock or rice types in this context.”

“Rock... types?”, she asked slowly and slapped her forehead. “Of course! Oh! I am such a Mudbray at times!”

Seeing her becoming angry made Leon feel relived. “Finally you noticed.” She punched him. “OH! Hey!”

“You are a jerk.”, she noticed and stuck out her tongue. 

“Hmpf.”, Leon made and pretended to sulk, before he turned around and grinned. 

“I will make my homework during the off season.”, Sonia promised and ruffled her hair, while growling. “You gotta be kidding me! I am the grand daughter of a professor and I forgot about that?”

“Well, you have en electric type, right Yamper?”, Leon asked the puppy, who brought him a ball to throw. Yamper barked and completely ignored the conversation the children had. The boy threw the ball and Yamper chased after it. 

“Yes, I have. How come you beat her so easily?”, she asked.

“Well, I have a fire type, so Butterfree was not that much of a deal.”

Later Leon was on the party and never had he felt so misplaced. He stood close to the wall with a glass of juice and watched all the taller people. There were not only young challengers, who entered the semifinals, but also young actors, models and musicians or the younger gym leaders. But young was relative. He was by far the youngest person in the room. 

Some reporters were here too and the other kids, if he could them so, were much better in talking with them. The boys(?) were puffing out their chests and bragged around. The girls(?) became incredibly sweet and weird, listening alone made him feel flustered. Aside from that he had no fun what so ever. This was boring. They all stood there and talked. 

_Gladly I am only allowed to stay here until it is ten._

But even that were still two hours. 

Leon took a deep breath and walked over to a group of boys to stand next to them and shake the awkward feeling of being the weird kid standing all alone. But the boys ignored him. 

“Hey.”, somebody tipped on his shoulder and he turned around. It was a girl, but an older one and she was pretty. Leon felt his cheeks got warmer and a sudden urge to hide himself. She was tall, lean, had red curly hair and a warm smile. “Are you Qart's little brother?”

He shook his head unable to say a word. 

“Oh! I thought so. You are standing here all alone, looking like a lost Growlithe.”, she explained. “A party is no fun, when you are all alone. Why don't you come over to my friends.”

She pointed to a group of girls, who were all almost just as pretty as the one before him. He got even more nervous. The girl chuckled and it was such a pleasant sound to him. 

“You are really cute.”, she noticed and funny things happened in Leon's stomach. 

“I would like to come with you.”, he said really quickly and she chuckled again. 

“Okay.” She took his hand and let him over there. Leon could not help himself but stare on the spot where her hand was connected to his. 

_What is happening?_

Suddenly they were in the circle of the other girls. 

“Hey, Ladies, I brought us a strong protector.”, she explained amused and Leon was sure his head was close to melt away. “This is... sorry, I forgot to ask for your name.”

He opened his mouth, but no tone would leave suddenly. 

“Aren't you Chairman Rose's wonder boy?”, a girl with long black hair asked intrigued. 

The boy shrugged and nodded. 

“You know him?”, the pretty girl asked. 

“His name is Leon, you know the boy wonder?”, the black haired girl explained. “He is only ten and one of the semi finalists.”

“You are only ten?”, another girl asked. “You look older.” She winked and Leon looked to the ground. “Aw, he is really cute. I wish my brother would be this cute.”

By now Leon was convinced his head would glow in the dark. 

“Stop teasing him, Molly.”, asked the pretty girl next to him. “I am Sara, by the way. Come you can sit with us.”

“Thank you.”, he mumbled. 

“My, my, you are one of the shyer kind, aren't you?”, asked the black haired girl and he shook his head. 

“Kim, he is ten.”, noticed Sara. 

“What? My sister is also ten and she has her first boyfriend.”, replied Kim, the black haired girl.

_Not shy, but I have problem getting my jaw to move._

“Do not listen to them.”, asked Sara amused. “So? You are ten and run around all alone over the region? That is impressive. I guess I would never had reached one destination.”

“A friend of mine helps me and my Charizard.”, explained Leon without looking at her. 

“A Charizard? Aren't they native to Kanto?”, asked Kim intrigued.

“Also to the Isle of Armor.”, he added. 

“How did you come to obtain one? A family heirloom?”

“Uhm...” He frowned a bit thinking of how he had obtained the egg. People had been looking at him funnily when he that told them and had bothered him a bit. Now he was worried what Sara look like if he claimed a wolf and a lion had gave it to him. “Yes, well sort of. I have been a Charizard fan since ever and my mum has a friend in Kanto. When Sonia and I had saved her Yamper from some Thievul, she thought I was ready to obtain my first pokemon.”

_And right now, she would scold me for lying._

Leon bit his lower lip, as the girls around him looked impressed, despite Kim, who smirked.

“Who is Sonia?”, she asked.

_DAM IT!_

“Kim!”, Sara moaned. “Seriously?”

“What? I think we have our next heart throb sitting in front of us and I have younger siblings, might built some connections. Wonderboy also has a bright future.”, stated Kim innocently. 

“Sonia is my best friend. She is the one travelling with me.”, admitted the boy hesitantly. “And no she is not my girlfriend.” He looked at Sara while saying that quickly only to feel how his cheeks grew warmer again.

Kim started to chuckle. “Poor baby.”

“I am not a...”, he started but Sara took his hand his voice died. 

“Let her talk. Tell me about the rest of your team.”, she asked with a sweet smile. 

“Sara?”, Kim asked wary.

“I have an Aegislash, a Semistoad and a Drakaload. Also I am currently working with a Toxtricity and an Orbeetle.”, he told her excited and Sara was a dream. Until Leon had to leave with the first ave of children, she listened to him, shushing down Kim. 

And Leon he felt proud and dizzy, when he left, unable to sleep. A wide grin plastered all over his face. 

“Wonderboy.”, a voice behind him called him. It was Kim with a very stern look on her face. “Just an advice, rearrange your team. I do not know what that was, but you spilled all your beans.”

“What do you mean?”, he asked with a growl in his voice. 

“I mean that Sara usually would care less about a kid's pokemon.”, she explained. 

Leon huffed. “Maybe she likes me?”

Now Kim laughed. “No, kid, she doesn't. She has her eyes on a bigger price, that will not cause her trouble.”

“You... you are just... mean!”, he hissed and walked off. Gone was his good mood.

Sonia was waiting in his room, watching a movie, when he dropped tired on the bed. She looked at him moaning into the sheet. 

_What is that?_

The girl eyed him confused.

_He is never like that. When he has a bad day he sulks and yells but that is odd._

Carefully she poked his shoulder.

“Hey.”, she said and poked harder after he did not move. “Heeeeey!”

“Leave me alone.”, he growled. 

“What happened?”, Sonia asked.

“Nothing.”, now his tone was finally pouting and he had turned his head away. 

Leon was not even sure why he was so god dam mad suddenly. But surely one tiny part was Sonia's fault. If she had gone with him, he would not had to need to talk with Kim. 

_But on the other side ... Sara would have also not talked with me..._

“Leon.”

“It is nothing, okay? Just leave me alone.”, he ordered harshly, harsher than he intended to. 

“Fine.”, she hissed and turned back to the TV. 

On the next day Leon sat in the boys locker room of the Wyndon Gym stadium. His was the third fight this day and he was nervous. This stadium was even bigger than the ones before. Now each TV channel had reporters here and everybody would watch him. It was impossible to stay calm. Another boy sat in the corner rocking himself back and forth. He seemed not to be keen on this either. 

_On the other hand. I can be the champion by Sunday. Okay that does make things just worst. How does one be the champion? Not like Mist, that is clear... but..._

He ruffled his hair and sighed. 

_Maybe other regions have good ones and I can ask them? Last thing Galar needs is another rascal._

A league official came for the other boy in the room, the one who would battle Audrey. Leon was glad he would have not to do that. It felt wrong even he wanted her to be beaten down, maybe even by him. But he would more for Sonia to be the one to put that beast in her place.   
That day passed and by the end of it, Leon found himself amongst the gym leaders for the finals. Kabu was also there. 

Sonia saw her friends face on the big screen and smirked. The leaders were all rather tall adults and Leon with his wide grin seemed so much tinier. Still now she had to look up to see him and that was odd. 

The next day was even worse, when he was shown right next to Mist, after he had defeated the gym leaders again. Sonia bit her lower lip. She was unable to shake that feeling off and worse was that she was ashamed. If she was honest to herself she did not like the chance for Leon to become champion, even it was something he wanted and worked so hard for. 

When he is champion, he is gone, she had realized. When Leon was the champion he would not come home with her, he would not be in her class, they would not camp somewhere around Wegdehurst. He was simply... gone. 

It was selfish and patty, but she did not want him to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, here I am again.
> 
> So Leon noticed that he is suddenly on his own, even with people around him. Thou to be fair he also shut Sonia out and he is a bit angry when it comes to her right know. But that will get resolved even if it is later. Mostly he is angry at his mother and Hop, even he knows that it is stupid and Sonia is just the only person there.
> 
> Sonia herself is not only still in fear off Audrey and does not realize that Leon needs her. Since he can seemingly get along with ease. 
> 
> Next chapter will be Leon vs Mist ( even if it is rather brief, because we all know how that fight ends)
> 
> Until then, stay healthy


	14. Long may he reign

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leon wins the championship and looses his first crush.

Leon was worried about Sonia. She had been looking sick the night before and today she would also hide in her room. Worrying about her made it harder for him to scan his boxes for another team. Mist hat the nasty habit of building a team fitting to defeat his opponent. And by now he had for sure study him. 

_I need to make some adjustments. But I can not drop Charizard and Aegislash is my opening ace. If I do not use it, he will whiff the bluff from the first move._

He growled.

_I hate to go in there blindly. On the other hand each trainer I have met on the road had pokemon I had no clue about._

Leon rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, Leon, let's do some homework.”, he talked to himself and pouted. Would be easier if I had somebody to talk with me about stuff, but Sonia decided to act weird. “Let's see: I have fire/ flying and ghost/steel. So I need something to counter ground, rock and water primarily, which would be a grass type. I could use Roserade, which could also cover for fairy types.” 

He dragged the icon into his team box. “Now I need something to balance my ice weakness. In you go Tyranatar. Good I found you in the Sandy Bowl. So I covered ice and psychic and I am left with a weakness for... ew not really Charizard can cover my fighting type weakness, still. I want a psychic type, but not Hatterene... Hehe, you go in there.” Leon chose a Mr. Rime. “

And there goes Mists potential dragon down. Lastly... “ The cursor of his mouse flicked back and forth between two pokemon. He could not decide, until he remembered something frowned and chose Dubwool.

Sonia sat next to two empty chairs in the VIP lounge. They had ben reserved for Hop and Leon's mother. But they were late. The closer the time came, the more she checked the time on her phone. 

“Where are they?”, she mumbled. 

Down on the grass was a show, getting the masses ready and one the screens were montages running of Mist's and Leon's greatest battles.

The door opened and some of the gym leaders entered. Sonia got nervous and tried to be invisible even thou Yamper had other plans. He was running towards the newcomers, barking and jumping up on them. 

“Yamper!”, she scolded him, but the puppy was laying on his back, so the blonde boy could scratch his belly. Behind the boy was a young woman wearing a fluffy white coat. 

“Is that your Yamper?”, she asked amused.

“A.. yes.”, she admitted. “Yamper, get back here.” Yamper did not listen. “Yamper!”

The woman patted her shoulder. “Don't be angry.”

“He is not listening.”, she sighed.

“Well, he is getting pampered. Gordie, please stop.”, she asked the boy, who pouted. 

“He has really soft fur.”, Gordie noticed. “Can I have a Yamper, mum?”

His mother put her hands on her hips. “I thought you wanted a Ferroseed?”

“That was yesterday.”

“When you are old enough, you can catch yourself all the pokemon you want.”

“But that will take ages.”, Gordie moaned and Sonia chuckled. 

“My, my. Look, there is uncle Kabu, be nice and say hello.”, she asked and pointed at Kabu, who just entered. Gordie walked over. “I remember you, you are Leon's friend, aren't you?”

Sonia had just taken Yamper on her arm and now nearly dropped him. “Yes, I am. I mean my name is Sonia.”

“I am Mel. Nice to meet you. So? Are hare to cheer for our challenger?”, she asked friendly. 

“Yes, but I am waiting also for his mum and little brother. They are late.”, Sonia explained. 

“Leon has a little brother?”, asked a surprised voice and Qart was raising from the couch. 

“Yes, his name is Hop.”

Qart sneered. “I guess that makes it obvious, who the favourite child is.”

“He adores his baby brother.”, defended Sonia Hop's honour. 

The steel type trainer yawned and rubbed his head. “Yeah I figured out that much.”

“How so?”, asked Mel surprised. “From what I could see he did not seem to like you.”

Qart laughed. “He loathes me. That little punk called me a disgrace for all older brothers. Not that he is wrong, but still.”

“Does he know that Raihan stole your Duraludon?”; asked Kabu with Gordie on his shoulders. 

“Oh! He knows.”, laughed Sonia and the adults turned to her. “Uhm... I wanted to fight Raihan and he let it loose, without being able to control it. So we had to catch a rampaging steel dragon in Stow on Side.”

“Typical Raihan.”, sighed Qart. “He is a little attention who..”

“Qart!”, scolded Mal him.

“Sorry, a drama queen and a pest.”, he closed. 

Sonia stared at him. 

_At least one person seemed also to dislike the chubby boy._

“Do not scold him, for your parents wrong doings.”, said Kabu. “And you are not innocent either.”

“What ever.” Qart waved the command off. “I doubt he can win this fight. Mist was extra careful and he will enjoy toying with the wonder boy.”

“Maybe he should not underestimate him?”, suggested Sonia, now clearly seeing that Raihan was not the worst. 

“Leon presented Mist his victory on a silver plate. It is his own fault.”, explained the steel type user.

“Qart?”, Kabu asked wary. “Spying on your opponent is dishonourable.”

“The boy had dozens of matches to see him fight. Mist just cleared the field.”

The music outside stopped and the trainers turned their heads. Leon's mother was still nowhere to be found. 

“They are starting.”, yelled Gordie and ran outside to climb on a chair. 

_Where are they?_

Sonia frowned and looked on her phone, no message. 

_I can not leave now also._

So she followed the gym leaders and the rest joined them. Don on the grass was Chairman Rose talking: “Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to this exciting match on this beautiful day!”

The masses cheered. 

“Today's match was quite the surprise as our challenger is just ten years old, even he fights like a veteran. Galar! Your challenger : LEON!”

Sonia saw his face on the screen. His cheeks were bit reddish and the smile a bit unsure and forced, but bright and also excited. Leon was waving hesitant. 

_He is so not used to this._

She smiled a bit. 

“And on the other side of the field will be ... well you all know him. Here is our reigning champion: MIST!”

Mist showed up with a pretty red haired girl at his side and a smug confident grin. The girls gaze was cold and arrogant. Behind her started Qart to cough and when she turned around she saw him hiding a smile. 

_Okay..._

When the camera showed Leon after the chairman retreated, the boy was not looking fierce but down right angry. 

_Okay?_

Sonia was confused. Clearly something was going on, she had no idea about. 

It was the typical six on six single battle and Leon chose his Aegislash first and Mist Runerigus.

“Earthquake!”, Mist comanded and the earth began to shake, but Aegislash seemed unaffected., but there was a bang. 

“Aegislash! Nightslash!”, replied Leon and the blade hit the other ghost type fairly hard. But now it was in its blade form and thus weaker on the defensive side. Also the ground was shown where red rubber rests were laying. 

Runerigus was not looking well and Mist frown turned again into a smug smile. “You are defenceless. Once more earthquake!”

“Quick one more nightslash!”, ordered Leon as soon as Mist had opened his mouth. Luckily Runerigus was even slower than Aegislash and fainted after the next hit.

Leon took a deep breath and rubbed over his forehead. 

“How did he survive that earthquake?”, asked Gordie his mother.

“He used an air balloon.”, explained Kabu. “One that made his Aegislash float.”

“Cheeky little brat.”, hissed Mist. “But just because he dodged one bullet...”

It was not that one bullet. The new team had caught Mist by surprise. Aegislash also bate his Hatterene. Roserade his Rhydon, Tyranitar had an easy game with Centiscorch and Charizard defeated both his Rillaboom and Corviknight. And it seemed so easy, not only from the outside but also for Leon himself. He could see how mist was loosing it. He began to stammer and gave nonsensical orders. 

When the champion ordered his Corvilnight to dynamax, Leon followed suit and while the steel flying type looked as expected, Charizard was... a monster! Flames were everywhere and the sun became unbearable. 

Leon looked up and noticed that he should have maybe tried that one before. Charizard had not dynamaxed, but gigantamaxed. 

“Are you kidding me?”, yelled Mist shocked. 

“Time to say good bye, Mist! Charizard! G-MAX WILDFIRE!”, the boy yelled laughing. He had dreamed from this moment so long! Standing here, winning, with his ace at his side and defeating his opponent with the strongest move they could come up with. 

Leon saw Corviknight shrinking again, as it fell and it had not yet touched the ground, when the MC declared the fight for over. 

“AMAZING! WHAT A FIGHT! MIST IS DEFEATED!”, was the message and Sonia stared down. “WHAT A FIGHT! MY LORD ARCEUS! DID LEON JUST DEFEATED HIM WITHOUT A LOSS?! WHAT A... WOW!”

He did, Sonia thought vaguely. Leon had just beaten the champ without a loss and had only used five of his six pokemon. While the crowd was going wild, Mist marched off and the grass got cleaned, the VIP lounge was quiet. 

“What was that?”, asked old lady Opal.

“Uhm... Sonia, can you tell me what his mother gave him to eat? Just so I give the same to Gordie.”, asked Mel shocked. 

“WOW! HAVE YOU SEEN HIS CHARIZARD MUM?”, asked Gordie, who started running around with his arms like wings, hissing and roaring. 

“That boy came far.”, admitted Kabu.

“Are we sure Mist did not throw the fight?”, asked the wind gym leader.

“He has not!”, hissed Mist shocked to the bone, before he also left angrily, pushing little Gordie roughly aside. “Out of my way!”

The boy fell and started crying. Mel was quickly at his side and glared after Qart. “Hush, it is okay. Mummy will wipe the floor with the rude boy, hush.”

Sonia looked down again, to see how Leon climbed a platform and received his trophy. 

“CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW CHAMPION LEON!”

His team was behind him cured and his smile grew wider when he saw Charizard next to him. The his grabbed his partner's claw and raised it up. The crowd exploded upon this gesture. 

Sonia had a hard time getting though all the reporters, who piled up around the locker. Two macro cosmos officials were guarding the door. She had to show them the ticket, before they let her into the room. 

Leon was sitting in front of a video phone, talking to his mum and Hop, who's hands were covered with sock puppets and had weird red spots in his face. One of the puppets was white and fluffy, also two tiny horns stuck out from the fluff. The other one was orange and had two mismatching green buttons as eyes as well as two horns too. 

“SONIA!”, the boy yelled and pointed at her. 

Leon turned around grinning. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“Have you seen him fight?”, asked Hop excited. 

“Yes, I was there.”, she explained. “It was amazing.”

“Tehe.”, Leon chuckled and looked away. 

“Was Charizard really this big and RAAWR?” Hop had the same golden eyes as his older brother and right now they were sparkling with excitement. He had opened the mouth of the orange puppet widely. “Was it?”

“Yes, and it got really hot in the stadium when it used G-Max Wild Fire.”, she explained. “That was a surprise by the way.”

“Hmhm.”, Leon made.

“You had no idea?”, asked his mother.

“I had sworn myself I would show off Charizard's dynamx for the finale.”, he explained with a shrug. 

“I told him it was dramatic.”, added Sonia.

“I wanted to give the crowd a show, they would never forget. Have you seen the prizes for a ticket?”, Leon asked. “Also Charizard deserved it.”

“Oh! They were entertained.” The door bell rang on the other side of the line. “More neighbours, Leon, Sonia have fun you to, but we got to go. Oh! And Sonia, make sure he finds back home, you two are planned as guest at a barbecue.”

“All right.”, the girl laughed.

“As if I would not find my way to that.”, huffed Leon.

“Hop, sweety, say good bye for now.”, asked his mother.

“Already?”, asked Hop pouting.

“Leon and Sonia will be busy today and you have to take a bath.”

“With the smelly medicine again?”

“NO! I do not...”

They mother sighed. “Take care you two.”

“Bye, mum, ha... “ The screen became black. “There she goes.”

“What is with Hop?”, Sonia asked.

“Torchic pox.”, he murmured. “And he clearly does not like the medicine.”

“Why have you not told me? I though they were in town.” Sonia looked at him, but he avoided her gaze. “Leon!”

“What?”, he asked hissing. 

“Why have not told me? I missed out on the first day..”

“Because you were still worried about Audrey. You did not want to and I would not force you. I made it alone end of story.”, Leon replied roughly, which confused her. 

“Hey, why are you mad?”

“I'm not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Leave me alone!”, he yelled.

“Funny! Because each time I do, you become more angry!”, she yelled back and he frowned.

“S.. sorry, I .. its is nothing, really.”, Leon explained. 

“Leon, what is wrong?” But he did not reply anything, he did not even look at her. “Fine, should I go?”

“No, I mean, I won, there must be a party right?”, he asked finally smiling again. 

“A party for two?” She smirked. “Leon, you just became the youngest champion ever! You are pretty amazing! Just the two of us would be very sad.”

“Sort of... hm, I guess I could call Raihan? Maybe his dad let's him out of jail for tonight?”, suggested Leon still sort of sad. 

“And I call my friend Nessa. Tell Raihan to bring a friend.” Sonia did not like the way he looked. So she hugged him. “Come on, why so blue? You were...”

Leon had buried his head at her shoulder and his body was shaking. 

_Is he crying?_

Sonia was shocked, something was definitely not right. Awkwardly she began to pat his back. 

_Maybe it is just the stress falling off of him?_

She allowed him to cry himself out until he move back and rubbed his eyes dry.

“Sorry.”, he mumbled. This time she did not ask. 

“Do you want a party? Or do you rather want to stay alone?”, she asked worried. 

“No, a party sounds great. Just not too many people, please.”, he asked with a smile. 

_That is better._

“Okay, but where? I would not recommend outside because, you have now a fair share of friends and these reporters are like Mandibuzz.”, said Sonia and pointed to the door. 

“And with what? I am champion now. Is it okay if I serve soda and pizza or must I now serve kalosi sparkling wine?”

“You are still a minor you can not even buy such things.”, reminded Sonia him amused. 

“Right, minor... Arceus, I am the champion!”, he husked and stared at Sonia, finally an honest smile spread over his face. “SONIA I AM THE CHAMPION! I MADE IT!” He started laughing and hugged her again. “I AM CHAMPION!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, I hope you are all right. 
> 
> So Leon is now champion. I wanted to show Leon of here. I mean we all know you can win in the games like this and therefore I wanted to show his talent in the same way. He accidentally dominated Mist. Yes, he trained a lot and did his homework on type match ups and battle items, but still he was also angry enoug to also just crush him. 
> 
> While Sonia noticed that he was already moving away from her and the scene with Yamper not listening, was also not something she did like. 
> 
> From now on there will be a few chapters with time skips, so we can finally ( yes I am sorry it took so long) head to them being older. 
> 
> Until then stay healthy and thank you for reading.

**Author's Note:**

> The moment these two started (not) talking to one another, I shipped them and that happens rarely.  
> How detailed this story will be, I do not know yet, but I hope you will enjoy it.


End file.
